Demo not starting... at all: d3dx9_42.dll missing -> update DirectX

[uat2d]

Ok guys, so yesterday I downloaded the 4Gb demo, and then when I was going to play it through Steam the game wouldn't start. Not with DirectX9 nor with DirectX11.
If I selected the option to start it from any of the Desktop Shortcuts I got a message error telling me file d3dx9_42.dll was missing and advising me to reinstall the game.

So I did. I had Steam delete all the demo files and installed the 4Gb demo all over again today.
The exact same thing happens.... so it seems I already wasted 8Gb of traffic.

Did this also happen to anyone else here? Can I do something to fix this?

Spoiler for screenshot of error message:

Spoiler:

It reads:

It's not possible to start the application because d3dx9_42.dll is missing in the computer. Try reinstalling the program to fix this problem.

Any help would be appreciated.

[The_J]

Try to update your DirectX installation ( http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/e...ang=en&pf=true ).


Nice avatar, btw.

[DioAurion]

Your desktop image makes me feel sick.. but I can confirm that the posted fix worked for me. This might want to be stickied as I'm sure many people will be experiencing this problem.

[The_J]

So you had the same problem, right?

No need for a sticky. Updating DirectX is one of the things which are everytime suggested.

[uat2d]

Thanks, the game is now starting up... however...

I still can't play it, the game crashes shortly after the ESBR warning, the farthest I've been was till the GameSpy image.

The error message just says the program stopped working and Windows closed it. This happens both with DX9 and DX11. And my PC is way above the minimum specs.

[The_J]

Do you have a special character in your windows user name, like umlauts, accents, whatever?

Then you have to move your "My Documents" folder.
On the desktop, make a right click on this folder, select settings/properties/whatever is the last option at the bottom, and there should then the option to move this folder to somewhere else. Just move it somewhere, where the path does not include any special characters.

[uat2d]

Originally Posted by The_J

Do you have a special character in your windows user name, like umlauts, accents, whatever?

Then you have to move your "My Documents" folder.
On the desktop, make a right click on this folder, select settings/properties/whatever is the last option at the bottom, and there should then the option to move this folder to somewhere else. Just move it somewhere, where the path does not include any special characters.

Yes, I have an accent in my Windows user name. How did you know?

Anyway, sorry, I didn't understand what I'm supposed to do. How do I move 'My Documents' somewhere else? I went to Properties but I couldn't find anything to move it. I mean, I did the following but the game still crashed in the startup.

I changed this to this, but it didn't help it. Can you still help me please?

[The_J]

The bug with the special letters has been mentioned some times in other places. Seems that someone at Firaxis did not work properly for the file localizations and did not think international.

Looking at your screens, at the second...the last character is an u with an accent, right? -> also not good. But i'm not sure if you've done the right.
When you click on "Os meus documentos", is then the left button (Def. localize para guardar) active? (I guess it means something like to shift/relocate, right?)

----
Goal is to move the My Documents/Os meus documentos to another location (NOT via the explorer). Normally, this folder is at C:\Documents\[Username]\My Documents.
Now we want to move it with the mentioned menu to somewhere else, like C:\MyDocuments\ or so, that's what we try here.



Happy international guessing. I'm sitting on a german XP pc, trying to give advice for a spanish Win7 pc. Somehow interesting.

[uat2d]

*Portuguese

The ú comes from Públicos (Public Documents, not that I have much of a choice, eh?)

That 'Definir localização para guardar' (choose location where to save) was where I changed the tick from my Username to Public Documents. Either way it doesn't work.

I now did this but the game still crashes. What should I do now?

[The_J]

Originally Posted by uat2d

*Portuguese

Ups, sorry.

Originally Posted by uat2d

That 'Definir localização para guardar' (choose location where to save) was where I changed the tick from my Username to Public Documents. Either way it doesn't work.

I now did this but the game still crashes. What should I do now?

i think this is know right, but then it should work.
I guess we need someone with Win7 here to confirm, that this is right, can't help here really .

[Ashbery76]

That is one freaky wallpaper.

[uat2d]

I copypasted the 'Sid Meier's Civilization 5 Demo' to 'C:\Documentos' but it still doesn't work.

Either way, the Demo shortcut is in my Steam File 'C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\sid meier's civilization v - demo\CivilizationV.exe', no invalid characters there, so I really don't know what could be wrong.

Either way, The_J, thanks for all the help.



My wallpaper for anyone who might be interested:

Spoiler for pic: