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Windows 11 FAQ |
Updated: 5 Nov 2022
1. How can I tell what version of DirectX I have installed?
Click on Magnitfy glass at the bottom of scrren, and type DXDiag.exe. On the System tab near the bottom it will say the DirectX Version:
Windows 11 comes with DirectX 12.
2. Where can I get the latest version of DirectX?
If a new update of DirectX comes out you can download the new update from Windows Updates. It
is recommended to create a restore point before upgrading DirectX as it cannot be directly uninstalled.
Additonal DirectX files for older software and games can be installed using DirectX End-User Runtimes.
The History of DirectX is available on Wikipedia.
3. How do I uninstall DirectX?
You need to use System Restore to go back to a state before you updated DirectX.
4. How do I get games to work in a Standard user account, they work ok as
administrator?
You can also use the Security tab on
folder properties to apply
Read,Write,Modify permissions for the program folder in question for a given
user or group (such as Everyone or Users).
Windows 8 uses a feature called Virtualize file and registry settings
which is enabled and redirects any read/writes to a special folder in c:\Users\username\Appdata
that reflects the folder in C:\Windows or C:\Program files and thus allowing
older programs to run on Windows 8. The setting is configured in Local Security
Policy.
5. I have some Accessories or Games missing. How do I install them?
Open Control Panel, Programs and click on Turn Windows Features on
or off. Here you can tick a box or enable the components or un-tick the
box to disable a component.
Games can be installed as Windows Apps from the 'Microsoft Store' icon such as Microsoft Solitaire Collection, Minesweeper Free, Classic Hearts, Pinball etc.
6. When I install and run a game it says that it cannot find OpenGL?
You need to install the latest drivers for your graphics Card as the one supplied with Windows will only support DirectX. If you have a very old graphics card such as Intel or Sis or S3 graphics chipsets, you may need to replace it with the latest Nvidea Geforce or ATI Radeon cards to run the latest games, as your old card is no longer supported. See OpenGL website for more info on this technology. NVidea supplies some OpenGL drivers
7. If I install a game and it asks to install an older version of DirectX, should I install it?
Yes, even though Windows 11 already comes with DirectX 12 and it is advisable that any additional Directx updates are installed for the game to work. If a game demands that a specific version of DirectX is installed, ignore it, use Compatibility Mode for Windows Vista,7 or 8 instead. If a game still does not work, then it will not work on Windows 11, you will need to set up a dual boot system with an older version of Windows.
8. When I try to install or run an old game, it asks for Windows Vista or Windows 7 or 8?
Fortunately, Microsoft have had the foresight to add a compatibility mode which is accessible via Start, Programs, Accessories, Program Compatibility Wizard. Run that and follow the prompts to get your program working. You can also access Compatibility settings via the program's Properties and click on Compatibility tab to set options manually.
Run the either the troubleshooter wizard to determine the settings or manually set options below.
Options:
a) Run this program in compatibility mode for: Windows 95, Windows 98 / Me, Windows XP (Service Pack 2), Windows XP (Service Pack 3), Windows Vista, Windows Vista (Service Pack 1), Windows Vista (Service Pack 2), Windows 7, Windows 8.
b) Reduced color mode: 8-bit (256) color, 16-bit (65536) color.
c) Run in 640 x 480 screen resolution.
d) Disable full-screen optimisations.
e) Run this program as an administrator.
f) Change high DPI settings: i) Use this setting to fix scaling problems. ii) Override high scaling behaivour. Scaling performed by: Application, System, or System (Enhanced).
If you are running a 64 bit version of Windows and need to force to run a program in 32-bit mode, you can use the CorFlags program from Windows SDK to execute a program in 32 bit mode, this will force it to use the 32 bit environment and use 32 bit DLLs in the SysWow64 folder:
C:\> CorFlags /32BIT+ program.exe
9. I want to run an old DOS game, what do I need to do to get it to run?
You can use a third party product called the DOSBox to play DOS games on Windows 11. It can create the correct DOS environment to play DOS games.
For Windows 95,98 or Me games, can use you need to use a PC with a Pentium processor and Windows 9x installed for it to work correctly or possibly a 32-bit version of Windows.
10. How do I test my DirectX or OpenGL drivers are working?
You can run the DXDiag.exe utility to diagnose DirectX problems with
Display, Sound and Input devices by clicking on the Display tab. Make sure DirectDraw
and Direct3D are enabled. For OpenGL, you need to download third party software
to test GL software and drivers. Try the OpenGL
Extensions Viewer from RealTek. For graphics card information try GPU-Z.
11. I cannot install or run a new game and I have latest DirectX?
You need to check the requirements for the game. Some new games require the latest and fastest graphics card for the game to work. Built in graphics chipsets such as SiS or Intel Extreme or older graphics cards such as Voodoo, ATI Rage or Geforce 2 may be too old and will only use a subset of DirectX features.Replacing the card with a newer card such as a ATI Radeon or latest Geforce.
12. Where can I get the latest graphics card drivers?
First try the manufacturer's web pages as they will have their own driver sets. Otherwise try AMD, Sapphire Tech, NVidea, or even Driver Guide.
13. How can I tell how capable my Graphics Card is and which DirectX version it supports?
Most modern PCI Express graphics cards now support DirectX 9 since 2002. Laptops tend to use older and slower graphics chipsets and will not have as much memory or features as their bigger brothers on PCI Express cards. Check on manufacturer's website for details. Run DxDiag, and check the Display settings or use GPU-Z tool.
14. What sound options can a PC have?
Most PCs now have built in sound chips for producing music and sound, they can be adequate for most users but for better sound, you need a discreet sound card for higher quality sound such as the Creative range. The type of speakers you have also helps which can range from Mono (single speaker), Stereo (two speakers), 2.1 speakers (2 high, 1 bass), 5.1 speakers (Surround sound) and 7.1 speakers (surround sound with 2 more speakers).
15. Where can I get the DirectX Software Development Kit?
You can download the latest SDK from Microsoft Downloads. For App and Game development try the new Visual Studio 2022 or Unity 3d.
16. What is T&L support in a graphics card?
T&L is short for Transform and Lighting which is used for moving 3D objects and lighting objects in a 3D environment. Most recent 3D graphics cards support it with DirectX 9 or later:
17. What is Pixel Shader support in a graphics card?
A Pixel Shader works out the colour and other attributes of each pixel on the screen. They can also compute lighting, bumping value, specular highlights, translucency, depth and other features. There are five levels of shader 1-5, the most recent 3D cards can do Shader 3.0:
18. My Steam games do not load after upgrading to Windows 10?
The OS upgrade seems to have caused some problems with Steam. To fix this, load the Steam client, click on Library, select the game from the list and selectProperties, then click on the Local Files tab and select Verify integrity of Game Cache. Once that is complete, the game should load ok again. More information is here: Steam troubleshooting.
19. Is there a simpler way of accessing graphics, audio and input devices?
Yes, there is the Simple DirectMedia Layer (SDL) which is a free library for use with languages such as C++, C# and Python.
You can read about it and download it from LibSDL.org.
20. How do I test FPS (Frames per second)?
A lot of high end games such as Doom 3, Half Life 2, Call of Duty and so on, have a built in developer console (enabled in the game options).
You can run some commands to display the FPS value as you play the game. For example: