DirectX is a very versatile and important tool that allows programs to access the graphics-based hardware on your computer. With this important functionality, it allows you to track real-time GPU usage, trace which apps are using Direct3D technology, and perform graphics-related diagnostics.
If you’re having problems with graphics-intensive apps or multimedia apps or games, there’s a high chance that reinstalling DirectX will fix them.
download directx installer
Typically, Windows automatically handles DirectX installation and updates. But the only way to reinstall it on your computer is to use the standalone installer.
First, go to www.microsoft.com/download using your favorite browser. Then, click on the ‘Download’ button.
Then, save the installer by navigating to your preferred directory using the File Explorer window.
Next, go to the Downloads directory and double-click on the installer to run it.
On the installer window, click on the option ‘I accept the agreement’ and then click on the ‘Next’ button.
After that, click on the ‘Next’ button again. If you do not intend to install ‘Bing Bar’ on your browser, make sure you have unchecked the ‘Install Bing Bar’ option. DirectX will now begin to install on your PC.
After the installation is complete, click on the ‘Finish’ button to exit the installer.
how to fix errors with directx
If you are getting errors reinstalling DirectX, you can also try the methods listed below to resolve them.
1. Update Your Windows
If you haven’t updated your PC in quite some time, there could be a high possibility that a simple update might be able to fix your problem.
First, go to the Start menu and click on the ‘Settings’ tile.
After that, click on the ‘Windows Update’ tile from the left sidebar to proceed further.
Then, from the right part of the window, click on the ‘Check for Updates’ button. Otherwise, click on the ‘Download and Install’ button to download the update. Once the update is installed, restart your PC.
2. Update Graphics Driver
Since the device mainly handles graphics-related tasks, an outdated graphics card can cause problems like improper display of information or apps not launching at all. Also, you can either update it from Settings app, Device Manager or choose to reinstall.
To update the driver using the Settings app, Go to the Start menu and click on the ‘Settings’ tile.
Then click on the ‘Windows Update’ tab from the left sidebar.
Now, click on the ‘Advanced options’ tile from the right part to continue.
Next, click on the ‘Optional Update’ tile to proceed.
Afterward, click on the checkbox preceding the option with ‘Graphics’ as suffix or prefix and then click on the ‘Download and Install’ button.
After installing the update, restart your PC and check if the problem is resolved.
To update the driver using Device Manager, go to the Start menu and type device manager to search. Then, from the search results, click on the ‘Device Manager’ tile to proceed.
After that, double-click on the ‘Display adapters’ option to expand the section. Then, right-click on the component listed under it, and select the ‘Update Driver’ option. This will open a separate window on your screen.
Next, click on the option ‘Search automatically for drivers’ so that Windows can search for the driver for you. Otherwise, if you have already downloaded the driver package, click on the ‘Browse my computer for drivers’ option.
Repeat the process for the second component (secondary graphics card) if you have more than one installed on the system.
force driver update, right-click on any one of the components and select the option ‘Uninstall device’. This will bring up the alert on your screen.
Now, click on the checkbox preceding the option ‘Attempt to remove the driver for this device’ and click on the ‘Uninstall’ button to start the process. After uninstallation, restart your device.
After restarting, go to the ‘Optional Updates’ section and download the update shown earlier in this section to reinstall the driver.
3. Run SFC and DISM
The Deployment Image Servicing and Management Scan will check and repair existing operating system files currently installed on your device, along with other system files on your PC. This has been known to fix the problem for many users.
Go to the Start Menu and type Terminal to find it. Then, right-click on the ‘Terminal’ tile and select the ‘Run as administrator’ option from the context menu to proceed.
Next, if you are not logged in with an administrator account, enter the credentials for one. Otherwise, click on the ‘Yes’ button to proceed.
After that, click on the ‘chevron’ (downward-facing arrow) icon and select the ‘Command Prompt’ option.
Then, type or copy+paste the below command and press Enter on your keyboard. This will reinstall the OS image currently installed on your device.
DISM/ Online/ Cleanup-Image/RestoreHealth
Once completed, type or copy+paste the following commands to check and repair system files on your PC. SFC is a free tool from Microsoft that can help you find and recover corrupted files on your PC.
SFC/ scannow
After the scan is successful, restart your PC and check if the method resolved the issue.
4. Run System Restore
If you’ve previously created a system restore point, you can easily roll back to it to fix problems you’re having with DirectX.
Go to the Start menu and type control to search. Then, from the search results, click on the ‘Control Panel’ tile to proceed.
After that, locate the ‘Recovery’ tile from the grid of icons and click on it.
Next, click on the option ‘Open System Restore’ from the list. This will open a separate window on your screen.
Click on the ‘Next’ button from the separately opened window.
All the created system restore points will be listed on the screen. Click to select the desired one and then click on the ‘Next’ button to start the rolling back process.
After that, a list of drives that will be affected by the rollback will be displayed with the timestamp of the restore point that was created. You can also see the programs that will be affected; Click on the ‘Scan for affected programs’ button. A new window will appear on the screen.
On the new window, you can see the programs that will be removed and those that will be reinstalled (since no programs on the test PC will be affected, the list in the screenshot below is empty). Click on the ‘Close’ button to navigate to the previous window.
Finally, click on the ‘Finish’ button to initiate the rollback process.
That’s all, people. You can either reinstall DirectX on your Windows 11 computer or you can try using the above-mentioned methods to fix any issues you may be facing with it.
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