FIX: DirextX dll files missing

[anakin]

If you are trying to install a game and have steam's "first time setup" keep autoquitting on you, and are told during your troubleshooting process that you have ***.dll file missing, try this out.

(I was trying to install Ark, had steam's first time setup start, and then quit repeatedly. Running ark's exe from local files told me I was missing xapofx1_5.dll, xinput1_3.dll, and x3daudio1_7.dll.)

A. Try downloading DirectX End-User Runtime Web Installer (https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=35). If installation completes successfully, try running the game--if it works, hooray!

B. If the DirectX End-User Runtime Web Installer gives you an internal error--check dxerror.log or directx.log message, check the log. T find the log, just search the name "dxerror.log" or "directx.log" in windows search--one of them should be found. Scroll to see the most recent log messages at the end. If it says that *** files "have been installed already", what's happening is that it tries checking a few files, sees that you have most installed and then gives up entirely and doesn't check to see if you have the rest of the needed dll files (which is dumb). So, download the Direct X June 2010 redistributables (https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=8109).

Run the download. You will be asked where to extract the files--put them in a labeled file of your choice on the desktop. Open the folder. Open each cab file to look for the dll file that you are missing. Take note of which cab files contain them. Keep the dsetup.dll, dsetup32.dll, dxdllreg_x86.cab, desetup.exe, dxupdate.cab files. Remove all other cab files from that folder except the ones containing the dll files you need (I kept both x64 and x86 cab files). After having deleted the unnecessary cab files, run dxsetup.exe. Installation of your needed dll files should work. Play game.

If this doesn't work, you're on your own.