Civ V will not run under Windows 10

[Raizu]

I've spent a good chunk of my day attempting to get Civ V to run on my new Windows 10-based laptop. I've read tons of forum discussions (here and on other sites) to resolve the issue, but nothing I've tried has worked. I've tried uninstalling / reinstalling Steam, Civ V, and my graphics drivers, run the DirectX patches, redist for VC, etc.

Ultimately, the error I'm receiving surrounds d3dx9_42.dll. I was able to extract this from the DirectX runtimes, and initially loaded it to Windows/System32. I continued to receive error: "The code execution cannot proceed because d3dx9_42.dll" was not found. Reinstalling the program may fix this problem." Once I also copied the dll into the Windows/SysWOW64 I now receive error "The application was unable to start correctly (0xc000007b). Click OK to close the application."

I'm really not sure where to go from here. Any help would be GREATLY appreciated.

Thanks!

[SamBC]

Probably the wrong version of the DLL.

There's clearly a problem, but it's not inherently Win10, because plenty of people are running the game on Win10. If you've really done everything you've said, then I can't think of anything else to try. The right versions of DLLs should come from the redists that come with the game.

[Raizu]

SamBC, I appreciate the response. To your knowledge, is there any other way to obtain the right version of those DLLs? Could I copy them from my Windows 7-based desktop (on which Civ V functions properly)? Didn't want to try this without someone more expert than me confirming this wouldn't be a problem.

[SamBC]

I generally recommend people not move DLLs around manually, and stick to using installers - there's just too much that can end up going wrong (as in it could end up breaking other software, or for more fundamental DLLs the OS itself).

[Huperspace]

"d3dx9_42.dll" is part of the DirectX 9c runtime. Don't only move that .dll. Install the DirectX 9c runtime normal and restart pc.
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=8109
but Civ5 should run with dx11 too.

[SamBC]

I believe you need the DX9 runtimes for running either DX9 or DX11, for some reason.

[Assault Korps]

After the update, it runs supremely well, and is a beautiful game on my Windows 10 machine.
Go to the Steam library and see if you have a CV update to install, you can also check the game files integrety there.

[Raizu]

Thanks all for your replies. SamBC - I've run the installer you linked, and it looks like it installs DLLs up to 30, then errors out (An internal system error occurred. Please refer to DXError.log and DirectX.log in your Windows folder to determine the problem.).

When I check for those files, I only see DirectX.log (no DXError.log exists). Within DirectX.log, I simply get messages stating that certain DLLs are already installed (and the log ends at 30 as well).

I've checked for an update to Civ and run file integrity, and neither of those has resolved the issue.

-Dan

[Staryn]

It looks like a DirectX or Windows issue, because of the error when installing DirectX, rather than a problem with Civ, so validating the files probably wouldn't do much (never hurts to try, though).

When the DirectX installer is used, it checks for existing versions, and just updates them if needed, so it finding existing files is normal - DirectX is already installed on Windows. I suspect part of the problem was when you manually moved the file.

First thing I would suggest is using sfc to check for bad files.

Open a command prompt as administrator, and type "sfc /scannow" without quotes, and see if that helps.

[Raizu]

Staryn,

I just ran sfc /scannow and it returned "Windows Resource Protection did not find any integrity violations." I assume this means all the system files are accounted for and functioning as desired?

What I find odd is that Civ V is looking for D3DX9_42.DLL but when I run the DirectX installer as mentioned above, it only attempts to install or verify up to 30, not 42 (or beyond). At this point, is there any other solution beyond perhaps doing a restore (fresh reinstall of Windows)? I'm concerned that if I do this, certain programs that came preinstalled on the machine (ex. Dragon Center from MSI) would no longer be available.

Thanks,
Dan

[Ghadaro]

Try checking your DX install with Microsofts DX web installer:
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=35

When adding dlls for a game manually its always advised to put them in the game folder to prevent it messing up anything else, moving direct X dlls into system 32 is a particularly bad thing to do as the file you copy into system 32 probably doesn't match the version of your other dx files and it isn't something you can conveniently just uninstall and re-install.

If the web installer fails to fix your dx9 install you can tell your computer that your dx is outdated.

Open notepad and copy the text in blue to notepad:

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\DirectX]
"Version"="4.08.00.0904"

Go file -> Save as
Save as type all files
Name the file: dx9.reg

Save then run the reg file. It will warn you that it will edit the registry 2 or 3 times so you'll need to confirm thats what you want to do.

What that file does is simply change the direct x version number in your registry. If you now run the Windows direct x installer it will recognise your installed version as out of date and replace it with the latest files.

[Raizu]

Unfortunately, none of the ideas above fixed the issue. I eventually bit the bullet and used the "Reset this PC" option to reinstall Windows. I then immediately ran the DirectX installer, and it worked as desired. Civ V is now installed and working perfectly. Thanks to all for your support!