How to Download and Install DirectX

ID: q179113

The information in this article applies to:

Microsoft Windows 95
Microsoft Windows 98
Microsoft Windows NT Workstation version 4.0

SUMMARY

This article provides an overview of the most recent version of DirectX and provides information about how to download and install DirectX.

Microsoft DirectX is an extension of the Microsoft Windows operating system designed to provide Windows-based games and multimedia-rich programs with high-performance, real-time access to available hardware on the latest computer systems. This results in faster, better performing Windows-based games and multimedia-rich programs.

DirectX works best with updated audio and display drivers that include hardware acceleration features. DirectX includes updated drivers for the most popular sound and video adapters.

For many older sound and video adapters, these are the most recent drivers available. If you are using recently manufactured sound and video adapters, contact your hardware manufacturer to inquire about the availability of more recent DirectX-compatible drivers for your sound and video adapters.

For additional information about DirectX for the home user, please visit the following Microsoft Web site:

http://www.microsoft.com/directx/homeuser/information/default.asp

You can download DirectX for Windows 95 and Windows 98 free of charge from the Microsoft Web site. For instructions about how to do this, see the "More Information" section later in this article.

NOTE: DirectX does not work with Microsoft Windows NT 4.0. To use DirectX with Windows NT 4.0, you must install Windows NT Service Pack 4, which includes DirectX 3.0.

MORE INFORMATION

You can download the most recent version of DirectX free of charge from the Microsoft Download Center at the following Web address:

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/release.asp?ReleaseID=16819

For information about how to determine the version of DirectX installed on your computer, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

Q157730 How to Determine the Version of DirectX Using the DirectX Diagnostic Tool

For information about how to use DirectX with Microsoft Windows NT, and for information about how to download and install Windows NT Service Pack 4, please visit the following Microsoft Web site:

http://www.microsoft.com/directx/overview/hardware/dx4nt.asp

For more information about how to solve problems related to DirectX, use the DirectX Home User Troubleshooter located on the following Microsoft Web site:

http://support.microsoft.com/support/directx/directx_7.0/tshooter/default.asp

Additional query words: msgame direct-x dx7 availability win95x win98x winnt

Keywords : kbsetup kbtlc kbimu msgame KbDirectX
Version : WINDOWS:95; winnt:4.0
Platform : WINDOWS winnt
Issue type : kbinfo