[solved] Is there a way to enable directplay without going through the Windows feature list (Win10)?

[RRW359]

Yesterday I decided I wanted to play AOE3 on a different Computer than usual and installed the physical version on my Laptop. It failed to initialize and after some googling I found out that I need to turn on "directplay" (why is it even disabled by default?) but the only way I could find out how to do it was by going to the Conteol Panel and turning Windows features on/off, and when I tried it multiple times it was blank and didn't give me the list of features to enable/disable. Does anyone know if there's another way to enable it?

[_I_]

you can use steam remote play or nvidia shadowplay if the host has an nvidia gpu

install steam or steam link app on the client
https://steamcommunity.com/app/353380/discussions/8/3105764348181505385/
log into the same acct as steam on the host pc
(link apps use pairing code, enter that on the host, steam -> settings -> remote play -> [pairlink])

enjoy

[RRW359]

Originally posted by _I_:

you can use steam remote play or nvidia shadowplay if the host has an nvidia gpu

install steam or steam link app on the client
https://steamcommunity.com/app/353380/discussions/8/3105764348181505385/
log into the same acct as steam on the host pc
(link apps use pairing code, enter that on the host, steam -> settings -> remote play -> [pairlink])

enjoy

AMD. I don't think I have anything in my house PC or not with an Nvidia gpu (nothing against them I just never bothered). Also while that might work for now it sounds like a cloud thing and I don't want to always need to be online, especially on a Laptop that may spend short amounts of time without a connection.

[Bad 💀 Motha]

Just enable that fearure. We've always had to enable that manually since Windows Vista. The it took you to write this you would have been done, rebooted your PC and been playing your games.

This is normal as WinOS does not come "out of the box" gaming ready.

All PC users must install things them or have the game installer do it.

Such as...
DirectX Redist June 2010
Visual C Runtimes
NET /ASP / XNA runtimes

[RRW359]

Originally posted by Bad 💀 Motha:

Just enable that fearure. We've always had to enable that manually since Windows Vista. The it took you to write this you would have been done, rebooted your PC and been playing your games.

This is normal as WinOS does not come "out of the box" gaming ready.

All PC users must install things them or have the game installer do it.

Such as...
DirectX Redist June 2010
Visual C Runtimes
NET /ASP / XNA runtimes

How do I enable it if I can't turn the feature on from the control panel? Can you give me step-by-step instructions? I don't remember needing to to this for the same game on Win7 (not saying it's impossible I forgot but it wasn't as much of an ordeal as this) and I have more modern games on the Laptop that work fine.

Also in case someone suggests it in the future I tried the Windows repair tool and it said it couldn't fix anything.

[RRW359]

So I tried looking into it more and scannow didn't work so I tried chkdsk. It's a workday and the more I read the longer it looks like it will take. I don't like unnecessary electronics on when I sleep due to electric bills and fire risks so is there a safe way to stop it if it goes on too long?

[Bad 💀 Motha]

What are you on about?

Simply go to here to enable DirectPlay:

> WINKEY+E > find the "Control Panel" in the left side area > right click it > Pin to Taskbar (for easy access later on) > now click it to open it > click Programs And Features > then on that left side panel area click on "Turn Windows Features On/Off" and find and tick the DirectPlay box and then click OK. Once it's activated, restart Windows.

[RRW359]

Originally posted by Carlsberg:

R/Click Start - Settings - Apps & Features - Programs and Features, (top right) - Turn Windows features on or off.

Win key + R - Control Panel - Programs and Features - Turn Windows features on/off.

Originally posted by Bad 💀 Motha:

What are you on about?

Simply go to here to enable DirectPlay:

> WINKEY+E > find the "Control Panel" in the left side area > right click it > Pin to Taskbar (for easy access later on) > now click it to open it > click Programs And Features > then on that left side panel area click on "Turn Windows Features On/Off" and find and tick the DirectPlay box and then click OK. Once it's activated, restart Windows.

The features list is blank. What about that is hard to understand? Google "Windows features on/off is blank" to see what it looks like.

[Crashed]

If your Windows Features dialog is blank this means your OS is corrupted and must be fixed.

In addition you could try entering this into an Administrator command prompt:

fondue /Enable-feature:DirectPlay

[RRW359]

Originally posted by Carlsberg:

Winkey + E opens the desktop folder, settings or control panel is right there on start button either with left or right click.

What are you on about??

I went to Control Panel, I clicked "Turn Windows features on/off", it opened a window, and there was nothing listed. Nothing to enable or disable, just a huge white page.

[RRW359]

Originally posted by Crashed:

If your Windows Features dialog is blank this means your OS is corrupted and must be fixed.

In addition you could try entering this into an Administrator command prompt:

fondue /Enable-feature:DirectPlay

I'm doing a chkdsk /r right now. Would it be safe to abort in stage 4 and try that?

[Crashed]

Originally posted by RRW359:

Originally posted by Crashed:

If your Windows Features dialog is blank this means your OS is corrupted and must be fixed.

In addition you could try entering this into an Administrator command prompt:

fondue /Enable-feature:DirectPlay

I'm doing a chkdsk /r right now. Would it be safe to abort in stage 4 and try that?

It should. If it made it through the first three stages without errors, then there are no file structure errors. Generally you'd know if you had a bad sector because your system would start to freeze while it was trying to read or write something.

I'd run the following commands:

REM Check OS health
DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /CheckHealth

REM Deeper scan
DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /ScanHealth

REM Repair OS health
DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth

REM Check system files
sfc /scannow

[RRW359]

Originally posted by Crashed:

Originally posted by RRW359:

I'm doing a chkdsk /r right now. Would it be safe to abort in stage 4 and try that?

It should. If it made it through the first three stages without errors, then there are no file structure errors.

I'd run the following commands:

REM Check OS health
DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /CheckHealth

REM Deeper scan
DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /ScanHealth

REM Repair OS health
DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth

REM Check system files
sfc /scannow

I aborted it and am restarting, I'll tell you how it goes. I don't feel like troubleshooting what sounds like a major issue on a workday but I already tried sfc /scannow and was told it couldn't complete it.

[Crashed]

Originally posted by RRW359:

Originally posted by Crashed:

It should. If it made it through the first three stages without errors, then there are no file structure errors.

I'd run the following commands:

REM Check OS health
DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /CheckHealth

REM Deeper scan
DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /ScanHealth

REM Repair OS health
DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth

REM Check system files
sfc /scannow

I aborted it and am restarting, I'll tell you how it goes. I don't feel like troubleshooting what sounds like a major issue on a workday but I already tried sfc /scannow and was told it couldn't complete it.

Another thing to try before totally condemning your Windows installation to a reformat is to download an installer from the Microsoft website (Windows 10 or 11 if you're running Windows 10 or earlier, Windows 11 if you're running 11) and perform an in-place upgrade.

And by the way, do not turn power off to your computer power supply without shutting down first; my aunt once killed a Vista PC that way and I had to reinstall the OS via in-place upgrade to fix it.

[RRW359]

Using the command prompt just opened a window saying Windows couldn't complete the requested changes because "no interface [is] supported" and I got an error code (0×80004002).

Originally posted by Crashed:

Originally posted by RRW359:

I aborted it and am restarting, I'll tell you how it goes. I don't feel like troubleshooting what sounds like a major issue on a workday but I already tried sfc /scannow and was told it couldn't complete it.

Another thing to try before totally condemning your Windows installation to a reformat is to download an installer from the Microsoft website (Windows 10 or 11 if you're running Windows 10 or earlier, Windows 11 if you're running 11) and perform an in-place upgrade.

Reinstalling/upgrading Windows definitely sounds like a weekend thing. I don't know if one game is worth a reformat but I might try it if more things stop working.

[Crashed]

Originally posted by RRW359:

Using the command prompt just opened a window saying Windows couldn't complete the requested changes because "no interface [is] supported" and I got an error code (0×80004002).

Originally posted by Crashed:

Another thing to try before totally condemning your Windows installation to a reformat is to download an installer from the Microsoft website (Windows 10 or 11 if you're running Windows 10 or earlier, Windows 11 if you're running 11) and perform an in-place upgrade.

Reinstalling/upgrading Windows definitely sounds like a weekend thing. I don't know if one game is worth a reformat but I might try it if more things stop working.

The blank Windows Features dialog is a definite red flag of a broken Windows installation.