In these cases, you can use a . The most famous is dgVoodoo 2 (not to be confused with 3Dfx Glide).

If a game was coded to look for specific DirectX 9.0c files (like d3dx9.dll files), and those files are not present on your Windows 10 system, the game will crash. Windows 10 includes a "compatibility mode," but it does not natively include every single legacy DLL file from the XP era.

Stick to Microsoft’s official DXSETUP.exe (June 2010). This installer is designed to add files without breaking anything.

The dxdiag tool may not explicitly list “DirectX 9.0c” as installed because it focuses on the highest version your hardware supports. The true test is running a legacy game.

If you are trying to launch an older classic game—perhaps Age of Empires III , The Sims 2 , or GTA: San Andreas —on a modern Windows 10 machine, you have likely encountered a cryptic error message stating that a file named d3dx9_43.dll is missing, or simply that the game fails to launch entirely.

Use this "offline" version if you have a poor internet connection or need to install the files on multiple computers. DirectX End-User Runtimes (June 2010) - Microsoft