View Your DirectX Information

Ever needed to know what version of DirectX you have or just wondered about it? Well here are some simple steps to do it!

Steps

  1. In the Microsoft Windows environment, go to START -> Run...
  2. You should see a window pop up on your screen with a text box next to the word "Open:".
  3. Type in dxdiag and hit enter, and you're done!
  4. In this window, you will see a lot of information about your existing hardware and software.
  5. There are multiple tabs in the menu. System tells you basic information about your computer, like the time and date, processor, RAM, and OS. DirectX files are specific files in the DirectX directory. The Display tab shows the graphics card for your computer, along with your resolution. You can also test the graphics features of DirectX. Sound shows you what sound interface you have. Input shows what different types of input are connected to your computer, like a keyboard or a mouse. Network shows you if your computer can have a network with other computers in games. You can also test the network play, and it creates a chat room type window, where anyone can access it, as long as they have the right IP address for it.

Tips

  • An alternative to using the Start menu to open the Run dialog, is using the keyboard shortcut Windows key + R. The Windows key is often located between the Ctrl key and Alt key.
  • In a Windows Vista environment, you can click the windows flag, type "dxdiag" directly into the text box above, and hit enter! This is a much faster and simpler way, for Windows Vista users only, of course.
  • You can verify physical memory, video memory and other core hardware's using DirectX.
  • You can check your Sound and Video drivers using DirectX

Warnings

  • Some options (such as changing the default refresh-rate override) can cause problems. Only change these if you know what you're doing.

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