Page Contents
Troubleshooting Retro Games to run on newer Windows PCs
Importance of Retro Games
Most of us grew up playing Video Games, and that’s a huge reason why many of us got into Computer-related and Software fields in the first place. Nostalgia is one hell of a drug, and hence, it is not every day that one often tries to revisit their favourite video games from days past but runs into issues. While the game exists as it is now, software and hardware have often advanced several years, sometimes entire generations ahead. But do not fret; the solution can be as simple as executing a d3dx9_43.dll download to something a bit more advanced with emulators and playing with native Windows Compatibility Settings.
We must be able to preserve and cherish these old experiences from the past. As our parents show us old movies from when they were growing up, our generation should also have the means and ability to show our offspring the video games that we used to play in our times. It is even more important considering the rapid pace of technological advancement over the decades.
So how do you revisit your nostalgia? Well, there are a lot of ways to play your beloved game from years past. The exact answer will depend on what game you are looking to play. Every game in itself is a snapshot of the technological infrastructure and capabilities of the time.
Just to start, the most modern version of the DirectX API is DX12, which powers Windows 10 machines. Similarly, notable previous iterations were DirectX 10, which ran on Windows Vista. DirectX 11 is mostly just a side alternative to DX12. So What is DirectX? DirectX is the API that helps the game give instructions to your computer hardware on what to render, where to render it, and how to render it.
How to get games from the 2000s to run?
Games made in the early 2000s were often made on DirectX 9. This trend has continued into the 2010s, as a result of which, a lot of games depend on DirectX 9 for their instruction set. So a clean Windows 10 installation on your shiny new PC will not support these old games that are dependent on these old software libraries. The easiest solution to this issue is to look for the requisite files that pop up when you try to run them; you may need to look and execute a d3dx9_43.dll download, which is one of the files that DirectX9 depends on. Many games into the early 2010s still support DirectX 9 due to its widespread availability due to the popularity of Windows XP.
Solutions for games made at the turn of the 21st Century were much more straightforward, for the most part, just requiring very basic tweaking in some files or something as simple as executing a d3dx9_43.dll download.
What if you want to play something even older?
As one goes further back in time, this task becomes a bit more complicated. Older games used DirectX 7 and 8, being released in 1999 and 2000, respectively. These have compatibility issues running newer games. But do not fret. Alternatives exist. “Wrappers” such as dgVoodoo two will help you in being able to run these even older games on modern systems with no issues. While this additional software fixes many compatibility issues when you play the old games, it also enables the usage of several enhancements and improvements in general performance, which leads to a better play experience as the old piece of software can harness the raw computing power of a system made decades after its inception.
But the story does not end there; Games have existed since the time of MS-DOS (Disk Operating System). For cases such as these, emulators like DosBox exist, making things much more accessible and enabling a smooth and fun experience.
Now that you know how to take on any issue you may face, rediscover your childhood favourites!