Computer technology has been developing at an extremely rapid pace recently. Modern people increasingly prefer virtual games over walks or travel. For these purposes, only the hardware of a computer or laptop is not enough. You also need software in the form of drivers or, for example, DirectX - a library and method of interaction with other Windows programs. People often come across this concept, but do not understand why DirectX is needed and how to find out which DirectX is installed on Windows 7. This will be discussed in this material.
How to remove DirectX 12?
Now you can start uninstalling DirectX 12:
- Run DirectX Happy Uninstall. Create a system restore point in the “Backup” tab. ...
- Select the "Uninstall" tab to remove the program. Click "Uninstall" to start uninstalling DirectX.
- Wait until the uninstallation is complete and close the program.
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Where is the DirectX library located?
Before you check DirectX on Windows 7, you need to consider where it is located. DirectX is part of the Microsoft Windows operating system. If video games don't use it, then most likely they run on OpenGL technology or the Vulkan API.
How to find out which Windows is installed on your computer
If we return to the question of how to view Direct X on Windows 7, then it is extremely simple. Just go to the Windows\System32 path on the disk where the operating system is installed. The folder that opens contains libraries with the DLL extension. Files associated with the DirectX API may be named D2D.DLL, D3D.DLL, Dinput.DLL, Direct2d.DLL, and Direct. DLL.
Note! Keep in mind that not all DirectX-related files are located in the System32 system directory. The operating system creates some other files, which can be located anywhere in the file system.
Using AIDA64 to view DirectX data
Installing directx sdk from the Microsoft website
And click on the link - Get The Latest DirectX SDK
or
June 2009 DirectX SDK Now Available
(the latest version was released in June).
A page will open from which you can download the latest version of the DirectX SDK - dated August 9th.
So, on the next page click on the Download
. A file save dialog will appear and the directx sdk download will begin:
By the way, in one of the latest versions of DirectX, technical reviews of two new technologies that will be used in DirectX 11 were added: Direct2D and DirectWrite. If you know English, be sure to look at the corresponding sections in MSDN: Direct2d and DirectWrite. When I was preparing the lesson, I spent two hours in the documentation. It's a shame we couldn't test it. I think that in the future we will definitely discuss these technologies in the mailing list.
After downloading the installation file, run it. I will illustrate the further process of clicking on the “Next” button with pictures:
Next the installation will begin.
Component location in Windows
In some cases, when you run the library's executable installation file, a message will appear asking you to specify a folder for unpacking. It often confuses users, hence the question: “Where to install DirectX, for example, June 2010?” Everything looks as shown in the picture below.
But in reality the situation is somewhat different than it might seem at first glance. The point is that you are asked to select the directory where the installation files will be unpacked. And the program will determine the further installation path itself. Accordingly, choose any place. To do this, click on Browse, select the desired folder and click OK (in different windows).
Why won't DirectX install?
If Windows already has a current version of the library, the online installer, having detected it, does not undertake to install the new DirectX on the system. Other problems can be caused by compatibility problems or incorrect operation of the antivirus. Most problems can be solved with the following instructions.
Directx does not install, what to do:
- Download DirectX from the manufacturer's website.
- We disable the antivirus for 10 minutes. We can do this through the tray (next to the system time) by right-clicking (RMB) on the antivirus software symbol.
- Right-click on the downloaded file and select the “Fix compatibility problems” option.
- Uninstall the previous version of DirectX.
By the way, we haven't mentioned how to enable DirectX 12 on Windows 10. Most games work successfully with both DX11 and DX12, but use the older version by default. It is more reliable and supported by most devices. To activate DX12, you should switch to DirectX 12 in the game settings, usually in the “Graphics” or “General” sections.
How to find out which DirectX is installed on Windows 7: methods
There are a number of other ways to view DirectX in Windows 7. They involve using the built-in operating system tools to troubleshoot audio and video problems that could be caused by hardware malfunctions. Below we discuss in detail how to check Direct on Windows 7.
dxdiag command, system information
Which Windows is better to install on a laptop?
The DxDiag program is a software system tool that allows you to obtain a complete list of information about the OS. This helps you quickly find problems with audio or video drivers. The information obtained in the form of a report can be used as a reference for diagnosing your PC and its problems.
To check your PC you need:
- Go to the "Run" window. To do this, press the key combination “Win + R”.
- Enter the command “dxdiag” into the field without using quotes.
- Click the “Ok” button to process the request.
- Wait for the program window to open.
- View all the main characteristics of the operating system.
Note! For newer OS (Windows 8, 8.1 or 10) the process is identical. You just need to enter the “Run” window or the command line and enter the appropriate request. To call up system information, type the command “msinfo32.exe”.
Command to view system information
Using an additional program
As an example, you can use the AIDA64 program. It is capable of providing complete and extensive information about the operating system, software and hardware used. To find the necessary data and check the availability of DirectX, you must:
- Download and install the program on your personal computer or laptop.
- Launch AIDA64 and go to the “Menu” tab and the “Computer” subtab.
- Open the section called “Summary Information”.
- View information about the DirectX version installed on the OS.
To find out information about the supported API version, you need to go to the DirectX section and then select the DirectX - Video option. Near the item “Hardware support for DirectX” you can see the version of the libraries supported by the operating system you are using.
Download and install DirectX SDK from the website
Everything is much simpler and faster here. Click on the link located at the beginning of the lesson. Or in the Listings and programs
search for "DirectX SDK", download the file to your computer and extract it. At my place, I unpacked the archive into the root directory of drive D. As a result, the installation folder looks like this: D:directx
A small note: I cut out a lot of things to make the archive smaller. In the future, you will need to download several more files, which will be communicated additionally. They will also be small.
What is DirectX?
DirectX should be understood, first of all, as a set of necessary tools and technologies that allow a developer to create high-quality pictures and sound, for example, in a computer game. At its core, DirectX and its components are responsible for literally everything. It is divided into several parts, each of which performs a special function, these are: DirectDraw - used to accelerate the display and processing of two-dimensional graphics, Direct3D - used to accelerate three-dimensional graphics, DirectSound - works with sound, namely mixing and playing 3D sound, DirectInput - used to process the keyboard, mouse, joystick and other peripheral devices, DirectPlay - used mainly to serve network games, DirectAnimation - used to create animation effects in WEB pages, DirectShow - for using multimedia in the WEB, DirectMusic - a new section that used for using music in games.
By the way, it is worth saying that DirectX was conceived and developed specifically in order to turn the Windows operating system into the main platform for developing and creating games and, of course, for playing them. Fortunately, today DirectX comes with almost any software that needs it. In addition, DirectX is now updated automatically, which means that the user now does not even need to download any specific version of DirectX from the Internet and install it themselves, but in some individual cases manual installation of this software is required.
Launching the application
Now open the project File - Open - Project/Solution
or click
Ctrl+Shift+O
.
If you downloaded the SDK from the Microsoft website, the example is located in the folder (D:directx is the folder where I installed my version):D:directxSamplesC++Direct3DTutorialsTut01_CreateDevice
If you downloaded the SDK from my site, the project can be found at (D:directx is the folder where I installed my version): D:directxSamplesTut01_CreateDevice
The folder contains two solutions: for Visual C++ 2005 and for Visual C++ 2008. Select the solution that matches your version of Visual C++.
Now press Ctrl+Alt+F7 and F5.
Here she is. The first program to use DirectX.
Before closing the IDE, let's take a look at the code.
In Solution Explorer, select the CreateDevice.cpp file. If you skim through the entire file, you most likely won't understand anything.
Surprising as it may seem :), but the structure of the program is very similar to what we have already created: #include directives, functions InitD3D(), CleanUp(), Render(), MsgProc().
The wWinMain function is an analogue of main. This is where program execution in Windows begins.
In the variable declaration lines: LPDIRECT3D9 g_pD3D = NULL; // Used to create the D3DDevice LPDIRECT3DDEVICE9 g_pd3dDevice = NULL; // Our rendering device
There are new types. In fact, they are overridden by typedef (which we already looked at) from the standard types.
Something we are not familiar with: g_pD3D->CreateDevice
Here, g_pD3D is an object and CreateDevice() is a method. We will learn why the syntax -> is used instead of the usual dot in one of the following lessons.
Yes, many new types are used here, many new functions, but still, behind all this tinsel, you can guess the C++ that is already familiar to us (I hope this is really the case).
What to do if the version is outdated: program update tools
If the user has an old and not updated version of Windows OS, then there is no point in installing new DirectX APIs. Moreover, they simply will not be able to start and work fully.
It is easy to determine that the version of DirectX you are using is outdated. It is enough to find out which libraries the operating system supports and compare the latest supported version with the installed one. If it is different, then you should install a new package.
To download, it is better to use the official Microsoft website and follow this link.
DirectX Diagnostic Tool
DirectX is a much-needed API that allows you to optimize the performance of computer games and 3D applications. Before downloading DirectX from a third-party site, you should check it carefully. If there is even the slightest suspicion that the resource is not reliable, then it is best to download it elsewhere.
Installing DirectX End-User Runtimes (directx for running games)
To run games and programs written using the Directx library, you need to install directx end-user runtimes.
One of the versions of DirecX end-user runtimes is already installed on your computer. For the programs we will create, older versions are quite sufficient, and if you do not need the latest version of DirectX end-user runtimes, you can move on to the next step.
The latest version (July 2010) of directx end-user runtimes
released in June 2010 You can find the latest version on the disc with some recently released game or download it from the link at the beginning of the lesson.
After you have downloaded and run the directx_jun2010_redist.exe file, a window with a license agreement will appear:
After clicking the Yes button, you will need to enter the path to the temporary folder where the archive will be unpacked:
After the archive has been unpacked, you need to go to the temporary folder you specified and run the DXSETUP.exe file. The following window will open:
Next twice
and the installation will begin.
All. We are done with installing DirectX end-user runtimes. Now, in order to create programs that use directx capabilities, you need to install directx sdk
. But first, a little history lesson:
A little history of directx sdk
Before you begin reading the lessons in this section (DirectX), you should have studied most of the material in the C++ section. Most likely you have a number of questions. And the most important of them: how to use the studied material to start creating your own game? Below I will try to answer it. At least you will learn the theory. We'll get into practice later.
Finding out the version of DirectX in Windows
The Windows operating system has such a complex structure that perhaps only its creators can fully understand it. Windows consists of many components, one of which is DirectX. It is a set of libraries that ensure the correct operation of multimedia and games.
DirectX is installed along with the operating system, meanwhile it is regularly updated, and at the same time new games require new versions of DirectX. For this reason, it may be necessary to find out which DirectX is installed.
