Page 1 of 1 [ 5 posts ] 

DeepHour
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 1 Jun 2014
Gender: Male
Posts: 77,612
Location: United Kingdom

11 Jun 2017, 10:58 am

I've been trying to get a PSX emulator working on three different PCs, and have had the same issue with all of them. The emulator refuses to run, and a message appears stating that 'dsdx9_26.dll' is missing from my system, and needs to be supplied. I've found a download for this file, and copied it to the System 32 folder of Windows, as instructed by a YouTube video. It didn't work, same error message appears.

Does anyone know how to proceed from here?

The computers are: Windows 8.1 Desktop, Windows 8.1 Laptop and a Windows 7 64 bit system in a Virtualbox.



liminal
Snowy Owl
Snowy Owl

User avatar

Joined: 5 Mar 2016
Age: 39
Gender: Male
Posts: 166
Location: NSW Australia

11 Jun 2017, 10:48 pm

Are you trying to use ePSXe or PCSX-R?

If one doesn't work, use the other.


_________________
Secretly he hammers the earth.


DeepHour
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 1 Jun 2014
Gender: Male
Posts: 77,612
Location: United Kingdom

12 Jun 2017, 11:41 am

Thanks for the reply. The emulator I was using was pSX, but I've now tried various versions of ePSXe and managed to get an older one working in a very basic sort of way. Never heard of PCSX-R before, will definitely give it a try very soon...

Still interested in the general issue of 'missing' .dll files though, as it's something I've come across quite a few times. I'd like to know how/why this happens and whether the so called 'fixes' ever work (read some suggestions that they often contain malware or viruses). Any views still welcome...



Shorttail
Blue Jay
Blue Jay

User avatar

Joined: 3 Feb 2012
Age: 37
Gender: Male
Posts: 95
Location: Aarhus, Denmark

13 Jun 2017, 6:12 pm

DLL stands for dynamic-link library, and is a Windows specific way of sharing libraries. A library is like a program, except it cannot be run. Other programs can load a DLL when you run them, which allows them to use whatever feature the DLL offers. This lets multiple programs use the same library so that you only need to get it once. For instance, if you have programs A and B, and library C, both A and B can use C at the same time.

The downside of libraries are when the makers of programs make the incorrect assumption that a DLL is available on the user's computer. In that case you will get an error when launching the program. You will need the correct DLL file and likely store it in the same folder as the program.

Where to get that DLL, however, I cannot tell you. DLLs can contain any code, and there is no good mechanism for figuring out if you have the right one. That means a malicious programmer can make a DLL with the same functionality as the one you want, but include a key logger or other bad things that will run when you use it.

My best bet if to find the official site of your emulator, and see if they link to any DLL. It's also possible they are simply not allowed to distribute the DLL with the emulator; Audacity, for instance, has an MP3 plugin, but in the past it had to be downloaded separately due to license issues.

Edit: Are you sure you're not looking for d3dx9_26.dll instead of dsdx9_26.dll? It's Direct 3D Extension, a part of DirectX, a Windows library for displaying graphics.

I usually get files from dll-files.com, you can try this, but I can't promise it's completely safe: https://www.dll-files.com/d3dx9_26.dll.html



DeepHour
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 1 Jun 2014
Gender: Male
Posts: 77,612
Location: United Kingdom

16 Jun 2017, 11:00 pm

^ Thanks for taking the time with all that. I've played around a bit with the .dll file/application extension, but no luck. Tried copying it to the Windows sysWOW64 folder as well as the System 32 one, and also tried inserting it into the emulator's own folder. It seems there's also the option of engaging in some 'brain surgery' within the registry, but I think I'll pass on that one. As you say, there's always the possibility of a virus, and I've been careful to restrict all this experimentation to a Windows virtual machine.

Second edit: yes, my apologies, the missing file was indeed d3dx9_26.dll, which was in fact the file I downloaded and copied into the various folders. No idea where the mention of a file beginning dsd... came from! :?