DirectX is an important part of Windows and fortunately under normal circumstances you don’t need to manage it manually. 24 Channels It tells you everything you need to know about DirectX so you know when something goes wrong (which it can).

What is DirectX?

This term refers to a set of APIs that handle graphical elements in games in Windows. Because gaming computers can have so many different components, game developers use DirectX libraries to write games that will run on all types of computers.

APIs help games interact properly with the computer’s hardware; This means the developer can make sure their game runs on a single version of DirectX rather than hundreds of GPUs.

What version of DirectX do I have?

At the time of this writing, the latest version of DirectX is DirectX 12 (more precisely, the DirectX 12 Ultimate revision), and this is only available in Windows 10 and Windows 11. If you’re using an older, unsupported version of Windows, your gaming experience may differ slightly from optimal scenarios.

You can easily find the necessary information about the DirectX version installed on your computer. Click to do this Win + Rto open a dialog box pretendand then enter dxdiag.

You will soon see a window with the name DirectX Diagnostic Tool.

On the System tab, at the bottom of the window Information about the systemyou will see an item DirectX versionWhere you can find out which version you have installed. If you have Windows 11 or Windows 10, it should have DirectX 12. Otherwise, check for Windows updates.

Go to the Display tab to make sure your computer supports all DirectX features (you’ll see several if you’re using multiple monitors). DirectDraw Acceleration, Direct3D Acceleration and AGP Texture Acceleration settings must be set to Enabled. If your graphics card is new enough to support DirectX 12 Ultimate, you’ll see confirmation of this here as well.

If your current build doesn’t support it, you may need to upgrade your computer’s hardware to take advantage of DirectX 12 Ultimate.

How to download DirectX?

In modern versions of Windows, you do not need to download DirectX directly. Since it’s part of Windows, you’ll receive updates via Windows Update as they become available. This means that No need to worry about manually installing DirectX updateswhen you start a new game.

Why do I have so many DirectX versions?

Although the version of Windows you are using should have the latest version of DirectX that your computer can run, this does not mean that you only have the latest version installed. Even though DirectX is built into Windows, Windows likely has all kinds of DirectX files. C:\Windows\System32 (and C:\Windows\SysWOW64 on 64-bit copies of Windows).

Why is this happening?

The fact is that each game uses a specific version of DirectX for which it was created. For example, if a developer wrote a game that will use DirectX 11 update 40, only version 40 will run. A newer version is not compatible; Since you have DirectX 12, you won’t get better performance with this version.

So every time you install a new game, a unique copy of DirectX will likely be installed if that version isn’t already installed. This means you could potentially have dozens of copies of DirectX on your system to run all the games you play.

What should you do if DirectX files are missing in the game?

While games should always install what they need, you can also run Microsoft’s DirectX End User Installer to install legacy DirectX libraries on your system. This won’t affect the current version of DirectX you’re using, but it may save you time if you’re playing older games.

All you have to do is figure out exactly what files the game needs and install them using Microsoft’s DirectX installation package. This information is easily available on Google if you need it.

Should I uninstall or reinstall DirectX?

There is no official way to uninstall or reinstall DirectX. You can’t remove it from the Programs pane in Settings in Windows. But since this is not a regular program, you don’t need it. This is an important part of how Windows displays graphics.

• As we mentioned before, don’t worry if you have more than one version of DirectX installed. These extra libraries do no harm to anyone and there is no reason for them to be installed when you download a particular game.
• Do not try to remove individual DirectX files from the folders mentioned above. This may cause games or other programs to not work properly.
• If you’re having trouble with a specific version of DirectX, try installing any pending Windows updates or reinstalling the game that uses it.

We’ve covered what DirectX is, how to check which version you have installed, and how to get the latest updates. This powerful library of graphics tools is one of the reasons why Windows is such a popular gaming platform. If you’re gaming, this is a normal part of your computer and in most cases you don’t need to do anything to control DirectX.