dxdiag says I have directx 12 installed. But some video games I want to play use directx 8 and 9 and the cd rom comes with the directx installer for the old versions. But if it did get installed, how do I check if the old versions have been installed?
I need multiple versions to be installed at the same time and to be able to check the existence of older versions being installed. Dxdiag only shows the latest version of 12.
1 Answer
I need multiple versions to be installed at the same time and to be able to check the existence of older versions being installed. Dxdiag only shows the latest version of 12.
DirectX 12 is built into Windows 10, it cannot be installed separately, nor could it be uninstalled. By having the current version of Windows 10 installed you have the capability of running (DirectX 9.0, DirectX 10.0, DirectX 11, and DirectX 12) software.
Source: Feature support for feature levels 12_2 through 9_3
But some video games I want to play use DirectX 8 and 9 and the cdrom comes with the DirectX installer for the old versions.
DirectX 12 is backward compatible with DirectX 9.0c provided the author of the application targets the DirectX 9 feature level of DirectX 12 instead of literally targeting DirectX 9.
Since the last DirectX 9 release is backward compatible with previous versions you should only need the most recent version released. Microsoft has taken down all versions of DirectX 9. So hopefully, the application you want to use provided the DirectX 9.0c End-User Runtime or you might have some compatibility issues.
But if it did get installed, how do I check if the old versions have been installed? So now I’ve Installed them both from the cd, how do I check it’s installed?
If DirectX 9.0c Runtime is installed it would be displayed in Control Panel\Programs\Programs and Features on any support version of Windows. Since DirectX 12 is a feature of Windows 10, and it cannot be installed, it won't be listed in Programs and Features.
The exact version of DirectX 12 you will have is entirely based on the version of Windows 10 you have installed. DirectX 12 backward capability is handled through feature levels but an application must specifically target DirectX 12 and specify the feature level within their application instead of targeting DirectX 9.0c specifically.
| Version | Version | Windows Version |
|---|---|---|
| 12 | 10.00.10240.16384 | Windows 10 (1507) |
| 12 | 10.00.15063.0000 | Windows 10 (1703) |
| 12 | 10.00.17763.0000 | Windows 7 |
| 12 | 10.00.17763.0001 | Windows 10 (1809) |
| 12 | 10.00.18362.0116 | Windows 10 (1903) |
| 12 (Ultimate) | NA | Windows 10 20H1 |
