# DirectX **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 13, 2001, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/directx/49921 "2001-01-13T23:33:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![jbird3000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/aeb1de/32.png) [@jbird3000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jbird3000)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2001, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/directx/49921/1 "2001-01-13T23:33:57Z")
I’m running DirectX 8.0 right now and I’m having problems with older games that want to install older versions of DirectX. Is there anything I can do? ---
**Author:** ![nowalls99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/e68b1a/32.png) [@nowalls99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nowalls99)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2001, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/directx/49921/2 "2001-01-13T23:57:44Z")
DirectX 8.0 should be backwards compatible with all previous versions of DirectX. I would suggest installing the games, and when you are prompted to install the previous version, say no, and test the game. There are some games that have problems with new versions of DirectX. I have a game that came with DirectX 6. For use with DirectX 7.0, I needed to download a patch from the game manufacturer. If you have problems playing the games with DX8, I’d suggest checking the manufacturer web page for updates or patches. Usually, they will have information regarding using new version of DX with their software. Or try using DX7, since there are very few games that require DX 8.0. The newest game I purchased came with DX 7, and it was released a couple weeks ago. ---
**Author:** ![Sofa\_King](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/58956e/32.png) [@Sofa\_King](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sofa_King)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2001, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/directx/49921/3 "2001-01-14T00:31:37Z")
One of the wonderful things about Microsoft is their support for their software. Take for example DirectX 8.0, which performs _worse_ than DX7 in almost all real-world scenarios, and has some serious bugs. That’s why Microsoft made it a permanent installation which cannot be uninstalled. However, the geek community has been hard at work creating their own uninstall utilities, some of which are supposed to work pretty well. I would first use the search engine at [http://www.hardocp.com](http://www.hardocp.com). The simple term “uninstall” will probably get you what you want. Be cautioned: Microsoft does not support the uninstallation of DX8, so whatever you use could be rough around the edges. Perhaps you’ll get lucky and have someone who has already tried this drop a line into this thread. Otherwise, you’ve got a lot of research to do. ---
**Author:** ![Sofa\_King](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/58956e/32.png) [@Sofa\_King](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sofa_King)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2001, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/directx/49921/4 "2001-01-14T00:42:27Z")
I just ran across [this page at TweakTown](http://www.tweaktown.com/files.shtml) which has a DX8 uninstaller at the bottom of the page. You might try that. Back everything sacred to you up tight, though. ---
**Author:** ![jbird3000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/aeb1de/32.png) [@jbird3000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jbird3000)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2001, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/directx/49921/5 "2001-01-14T03:42:07Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by nowalls99 \* > **DirectX 8.0 should be backwards compatible with all previous versions of DirectX. I would suggest installing the games, and when you are prompted to install the previous version, say no, and test the game.** Well it ain’t. The problem with uninstalling it is that I _need_ it for the newer games. I bought myself a discount Descent 2 game, and it needed DirectX 2.0, so I installed it over my current version (6 at the time). But then, I had to REinstall 6 to play my newer games. Is there a program that would let me pick which DirectX is running?