We all know the importance of having the latest version of DirectX to achieve the best performance in gaming. Simply put, DirectX is a Windows technology that enables higher performance in graphics and sound when you’re playing games or watching video on your PC. The latest version available today is DirectX 10 (DirectX 11 coming soon) but unfortunately DirectX 10 is only officially available with Windows Vista. Previous versions of Windows such as Windows XP are not able to officially run DirectX 10.

DirectX for Windows XP

Although we cannot install DirectX 10 officially from Microsoft, there is a very popular unofficial DirectX 10 from Alky Project which we can install on Windows XP. I got to know about this few years back but did not test it on my computer because I am not a real gamer (the only game I play is CSS) and it seems troublesome to install it on Windows XP. It involves copying a few cracked dll files to system folder, downloading and installing DirectX SDK and blah blah blah. They should make an easy installer to install DirectX 10 for Windows XP…

We can forget about Alky Project now because the project has been stopped. There’s no need to be sad because I found another alternative to easily install DirectX 10 in Windows XP just by running one single setup file.

Here is a DirectX 10 for Windows XP by KM-Software DirectX team. You only need to download dx10_xp.exe file and run it to install. During installation, you can even install DirectX 10 version from Alky Project or DirectX 10 version from KM-Software. If you’re running a 64-bit Windows XP, just select DirectX with Win x64 support during installation.

Install DirectX 10 in Windows XP

Actually this version of DirectX 10 for Windows XP by LWGame is the last version (they called it LV) and will not have anymore updates. If it works and improves the graphics in the game that you’re playing, then continue using it. Otherwise, just uninstall it from Windows Start Menu. To check the version of DirectX installed on your Windows, just run dxdiag from Run. As you can see at the image below, I have DirectX 10.0 (4.10.0000.18000) installed in Microsoft Windows XP Professional (5.1, Build 2600).

DirectX 10 for Windows XP SP3

If you’re interested in installing DirectX 10 in Windows XP, you can download from the link below.
[ Download DirectX 10 for Windows XP ]

When using DirectX 10 for Windows XP, you “might” encounter problems when playing old games or games that doesn’t support DirectX 10. We wouldn’t want to keep on installing and uninstalling DirectX, so here is another useful tool by KM-Software which can be used to change the DirectX version on our computer.

Change DirectX Version with KMDXC

KMDXC (KM-DirectX Changer) can change the DirectX version to any other without restarting the operating system. It has a very user friendly interface, just select the DirectX version that you want your system to run with and click Patch button. KMDXC allows you to run old games that do not support DirectX 9 and DirectX 10, start the game with support for DirectX for Windows XP and turn off DirectX 10 in Windows Vista and Windows 7. KMDXC is actually a shareware that cost $10.95 for one computer license but it did not mention how long is the allowed trial period.

[ Download KM-Software DirectX Changer ]


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