Verify DirectX Level

About DirectX 9.0c

Our products that use DirectX, need DirectX 9.0c. (dated March 2008 or later). The DirectSound components used are DirectSound (dsound.dll) and DirectSound-3D (dsound3D.dll) Here we present only what you need to know about DirectX to verify your version and install if necessary. Extensive detail can be found at DirectX on Wikipedia.

Attention!! DirectX 10+ is NOT a later version of DirectX 9.0c (see explanation below)

Verify DirectX Level

The easy way to verify your DirectX Levels is to download and run our DirectX Test Tool.

However, if you prefer, you can follow these instructions to check manually.

DirectX on Windows 7 and Vista - DirectX 10+

DirectX 10+ vs DirectX 9.0c
DirectX 10+ (ie DirectX 10, 11, 12, etc. ) is NOT a later version of DirectX 9.0c . The bottom line is that even if you know you have DirectX 10 or later on your computer, it does not mean that you have DirectX 9.0c installed. DO NOT uninstall DirectX 10+ if it is already installed. Simply install DirectX 9.0c. These DirectX versions are designed to co-exist.

Windows 7 and Vista are different from XP regarding DirectX. Windows 7 and Vista come with Microsoft XNA technology (a.k.a. DirectX 10 or later). DirectX-10 and DirectX 9.0c (a.k.a. DirectX 9.0Ex) are two distinctly different technologies. They can co-exist on the same computer. But your computer manufacturer may not have pre-installed DirectX 9.0c (especially if it is a Windows 7 and Vista machine) so you need to check for it. Yes, it is confusing. Microsoft admits using the name DirectX 10 for XNA is, and I quote, "misleading" for customers (so what were they thinking?). If you run the DirectX Diagnostic Tool on Windows 7/Vista, it will show the DirectX Version 10, not DirectX 9.0c. So it can be very confusing. And by the way, DirectX 10 cannot be installed on XP.