The need for DirectX 9.0C ?

K

KenGreen

Active member
In a recent thread a new user was advised to install DirectX 9.0c.
I have never installed DirectX 9.0c as I presumed that this, if needed, would be either picked up or flagged by the installer. I've re-run Trainzdiag on TS12 and this shows that DirectX 10 or later is present.
As I don't have any other games but Trainz installed and have never noticed a problem I thought I would check that I really need it because I am the type that doesn't try to fix what ain't broke as I lack the knowledge to fix any problems I might cause.
I am currently using Win7 64bt ultimate and Win7 64bt Home premium editions.
I have already download the file from MS in readiness.

Thanks

Ken
 
Short answer is yes. Long answer is that Trainz is hardcoded to use that specific version, and will not run unless it is present. In addition to this, certain patches require the August 2009 or later version.

Shane
 
shaneturner12 said:
Short answer is yes. Long answer is that Trainz is hardcoded to use that specific version, and will not run unless it is present. In addition to this, certain patches require the August 2009 or later version.

Shane
Click to expand...

You know, I'm pretty sure I forgot to install DX9 after playing musical drives.

How would I know if I installed it and not just using what came with Windows 7 64 bit?
 
shaneturner12 said:
Short answer is yes. Long answer is that Trainz is hardcoded to use that specific version, and will not run unless it is present. In addition to this, certain patches require the August 2009 or later version.

Shane
Click to expand...

The thing is Shane I've been using Trainz for over three years now and it certainly does run and I have patched many times now without problem that's why I'm asking the question. What does it do and why doesn't the Trainz installer load it if it's hard coded or at least flag the fact that it's not installed.

Ken
 
The reason this is the case is because there is a basic subset of DX 9.0C installed with Vista/7/8, but it is not the latest version. Trainz needs at least the August 2009 or later version in order to run correctly in DirectX mode and for certain patches - SP3 for TS2009 is one of the patches that requires this, so if you have build 41844 or 44653 for your TS2009, then it is running at least the August 2009 version.

As for telling how up-to-date it is, there is a series of files in System32 or Syswow64 (depending on whether it's a 32 or 64 bit system) named d3dx9_xx.dll. xx is the revision number, which the highest at the moment is 43 (D3DX9_43.dll), which corresponds to the June 2010/April 2011 version.

The installer does not have the capability to check for this, but the Trainz executable itself (as well as Content Manager) can check this, and quite often Content Manager will not load unless the August 2009 or June 2010/April 2011 versions are installed.

Shane

Shane
 
Shane
So the basic subset of DirectX 9.0c is included so if I did install the later version which Malc's link provided - June 2010 what difference would I see.

Ken
 
It's mainly performance related, as well as supporting later graphics card features.

I always advise running the latest graphics card drivers (and DirectX files) that your graphics card will support, for the best performance.

N3V may decide to change the DirectX requirement at any time, and it is stated that it must be version 9.0C as a minimum.

Updating the DirectX files will not cause your system any issues, unlike some Windows updates.

Shane
 
Thanks Shane that now makes sense.
So you don't really need it if you have a decent graphics card in the first place, the drivers only effectively improve border-line graphics cards.

Ken
 
Even if you have a decent graphics card, it's advisable to have the latest DirectX files, as Microsoft have added support for more features into each release. As long as you are running at least the August 2009 version, you should be fine.

It's mainly Windows XP users that need to sort their DirectX out, as DirectX 9.0C is not installed by default on a Windows XP machine.

Shane
 
Shane
I've just checked in the sysWOW64 directories and on one PC I have D3DX9_43.dll installed and on the other I have D3DX9_42.dll installed so considering that I didn't install them they must come with Win7.

Ken
 
I would suggest updating the one with the _42 version - the _43 version should be up to date. Also check in the System32 folder.


Shane
 
I do my best to, but sometimes I can get annoyed (just not very often, luckily) - it's usually with people who advise others to do illegal or dodgy things.

Shane
 
I suspect that some other game probably installed the DX9 files, many are still using DX9. Or perhaps Microsoft have woken up and updated DX to include them?
 
clam1952 said:
I suspect that some other game probably installed the DX9 files, many are still using DX9. Or perhaps Microsoft have woken up and updated DX to include them?
Click to expand...

This most likely came from a game because the latest Windows version W8 does not include any DX9. I had to download the DirectX9.0c Redistribution Package from Microsoft and install it manually.

Trains still likes to run in Open/GL though with Windows 8, even though DX9 is needed.

John
 
Thankyou for that bit of info John - I will make sure that other users of Win8 are aware of that if they run into issues with DX in Trainz.

Shane

P.S. Did you know that my DXInstallHelper tool can do it in one go?
 
shaneturner12 said:
Thankyou for that bit of info John - I will make sure that other users of Win8 are aware of that if they run into issues with DX in Trainz.

Shane

P.S. Did you know that my DXInstallHelper tool can do it in one go?
Click to expand...

You're welcome. I'm still figuring things out with this OS. It's not as bad as we thought, and there's a lot of good stuff under the hood with that new interface. As I run into things, I post them here. This DX thing is recent because I just did a fresh, as in flattening the system, and reinstalling everything. The first go around was an in-place install which left some icky stuff because, even though the OS is removed, the apps remain but their registry updates are copied back in. This is okay for those people that view the web and do email, but it doesn't work for people like us.

I didn't know that your tool would do that. I'll have to get that and save myself time in the future. :)

John
 
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