directx sdk samples not working

It seems like every time I try to learn about this language I have errors and design flaws fighting me every step of the way. My hats off to you folks who were actually able to learn without going to school.

Anyway, I downloaded the directx sdk, opened the sample browser and downloaded the first tutorial. I attempted to compile it and got a dialog saying:

"This application has failed to start because d3d11.dll was not found. Re-installing the application may fix this problem"

Where would this file be? Where should I install it if it isn't on my system?

You must install the re-dist for DirectX 11 in order to run games that use it or develop games that use it.

Quote:

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My hats off to you folks who were actually able to learn without going to school.

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I don't think D3D and DirectX are taught in many schools.

I downloaded directx redistributable, extracted and installed in

C:\Program Files\Microsoft SDKs

same problem. Cannot find d3d11.dll

Did I install it wrong?

I'm not sure you want to install it into that folder, unless that folder is part of your environment PATH. I think d3d dlls are generally installed into C:\Windows\system32 which will be in your PATH.

No you didn't install it. First off you are not given a choice as to where to install DirectX. It will ALWAYS install in <WindowsDrive>\Windows\System32. You do not have a choice. You most likely unzipped the SDK but this is not the redist's. The redist's are included with the SDK but are not part of the SDK. The redist's are also available on every single game CD/DVD out there. The redist ensures that your DirectX environment matches the developer's environment and thus guarantees compatibility.

Start->Run->dxdiag

That will show you what DirectX version you have and all the versions of your DLLs.

okay, I ran dxdiagnostic and it tells me:

Several files (kstvtune.ax, ksxbar.ax, kswdmcap.ax, etc.) are incorrectly installed in the Windows folder and should be deleted.
The file d3d9d.dll is a debug version, which will run slower than the retail version.

where would you recommend I go to download a fix for this?

Install DirectX 11.

...what operating system are you using? is it windows xp? because that wont work with dx 11. also i assume you have a directx 11 video card right?



only vista and 7 work with directx 11.

Yes, It's Win XP

Does this mean I can't program with directx?

Okay, I reinstalled DirectX SDK and it tells me the file wavebank.xwb is corrupt. WTF?!? Is MS just releasing a crappy product? Or is it on my end?

Tried to run my program. d3dx9 not found. I googled and found the code to make the file, which I did and placed in the library, now it can't find d3dx9math.h

So if I can find all the files associated with this one and build them, would that work?

Or maybe I should downgrade to an earlier version of directx

Quote:

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Okay, I reinstalled DirectX SDK and it tells me the file wavebank.xwb is corrupt. WTF?!? Is MS just releasing a crappy product? Or is it on my end?

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No, it's you.

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Yes, It's Win XP
Does this mean I can't program with directx?

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If you are using version 10 or greater then yes this means you cannot use that version of DirectX on WinXP.

Quote:

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only vista and 7 work with directx 11.

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This is your answer...but just in case....

DirectX versions 10 and up will NOT work on XP

Sounds like you are using DirectX9 now. It still sounds like you aren't installing the redistributable properly, though.

Okay, here is the step by step. I'm starting from scratch. I've uninstalled DXSDK (June 2010). According to the website Download details: DirectX SDK - (June 2010) it works with windows XP so that should not be an issue.

I'm now installing it in: C:\Program Files\Microsoft DirectX SDK (June 2010)

As soon as I'm given the option, I get a little popup in the tray that says .../wavebank.xwb is corrupt and to run chkdsk which I did. The console spat out a bunch of crap saying it deleted this index and that one. I assume it isn't related to my current issue but if you folks think it is, I'll do it again and post it.

Now I have the dialog for installation options. By default, everything is selected except DirectX symbol files. Last time, I installed those anyway. This time, I'll just go with the default. Again, probably not related.

Installing...

And the popup returns telling me that WaveBank.xwb is corrupt. This is in a sample folder so it seems like there should be no effect on the overall coding. Correct me if I'm wrong. Also a dialog pops up twice with an error writing to that particular file. I will skip it for now.

Finished installing.

Now I'm installing the redistributable also June 2010. Located here: Download DirectX Redistributable June 2010 Free - A very useful application for running and displaying applications rich in multimedia elements - Softpedia

Here goes:

Unsure of exactly where to extract the files, I've placed them in a desktop folder. They are cab files which according to my computer are a type of zip file. I assume I don't need to extract every one (pain in the ass if I do) but just place them in the correct directory.

I did a search for similar files and found two folders.

C:\Program Files\Microsoft SDKs

and

C:\Program Files\Microsoft DirectX SDK (June 2010)\Redist

I think it's the first one but I won't go any further for now. I'll listen to what you fine gentlemen have to say. But am I right so far?

If you have to extract the redistributable, there is probably a setup file inside the folder you extract it to. You need to run that. The process is not complete without the install.

Have you been using the same binary when you install the DX SDK? It may be that you have a corrupt install file and that's why you are getting those notifies. Do a CRC check or redownload it. Otherwise, it sounds like the SDK isn't uninstalling properly and you may need to wipe that area. However, I don't think this is your main problem.

Okay. Yes, I see it. DXSETUP.exe

Installed with no problems.

I'll go ahead and try to run my proggie and see what happens.

And here are my errors,

1>------ Build started: Project: autodidac_dx_2, Configuration: Debug Win32 ------
1> prog.cpp
1>prog.obj : error LNK2019: unresolved external symbol _Direct3DCreate9@4 referenced in function "void __cdecl initD3D(struct HWND__ *)" (?initD3D@@YAXPAUHWND__@@@Z)
1>prog.obj : error LNK2019: unresolved external symbol _D3DXMatrixPerspectiveFovLH@20 referenced in function "void __cdecl render_frame(void)" (?render_frame@@YAXXZ)
1>prog.obj : error LNK2019: unresolved external symbol _D3DXMatrixLookAtLH@16 referenced in function "void __cdecl render_frame(void)" (?render_frame@@YAXXZ)
1>prog.obj : error LNK2019: unresolved external symbol _D3DXMatrixRotationY@8 referenced in function "void __cdecl render_frame(void)" (?render_frame@@YAXXZ)
1>C:\Documents and Settings\Rian Saville\My Documents\Visual Studio 2010\Projects\autodidac_dx_2\Debug\autodidac_dx_2. exe : fatal error LNK1120: 4 unresolved externals
========== Build: 0 succeeded, 1 failed, 0 up-to-date, 0 skipped ==========

Could this be because I didn't install the symbol files?

No that is b/c you aren't linking with the export libraries.

You will need to add these lines for your linker.

d3d9.lib
d3dx9.lib (release) or d3dx9d.lib (debug)
dxguid.lib (this has all the GUIDs for the interfaces)

For MSVC you add those lines in Linker->Input->Additional Dependencies

Direct3DCreate9() is in d3d9.lib
All the other unresolved externals you are getting are in d3dx9.lib and d3dx9d.lib

If you are linking with the debug version of D3DX (d3dx9d.lib) you should also define D3D_DEBUG_INFO in your pre-processor settings. Additionally you will want to run dxcpl.exe (Program Files->Microsoft DirectX SDK (month year)->DirectX Utilities->DirectX Control Panel) and set the Debug output level to about halfway for Direct3D, DirectInput, and DirectSound (if you use the last two). This will give you some valuable debugging information when developing your Direct3D application. Also you will want to set each of them to use the Debug version of their DLLs. Note that before running any retail game you will want to set these back to retail versions or your game will run like garbage. For other debugging you may want to use maximum validation, break on memory leaks, etc. Break on memory leaks is valid b/c if you set this the DirectX runtimes will break on a COM resource leak. Also when Direct3D exits and if your debug output level is high enough you will get resource allocation IDs for each allocation. If you set the control panel to break on memory leaks and type the allocation ID in the Alloc ID text field your application will break on the line of code that is allocating a resource that has the ID. Very helpful for finding memory leaks.

Keep in mind that Direct3D is a hard beast to debug b/c if you leak ANY resource along the way the entire device will leak and dump tons of leaks to std::out even though it may have been caused by one leak.

I did as you suggested. I'm using MSVS 2010 Express and I placed those files in additional dependencies each on it's own line. It returned one error.

1>LINK : fatal error LNK1104: cannot open file 'd3dx9.lib'


BTW, here is my code if it helps. It's from an online DX tutorial: just a simple program to display a rotating triangle.

Code:

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// include the basic windows header files and the Direct3D header file
#include <windows.h>
#include <windowsx.h>
#include <d3d9.h>
#include <d3dx9.h>

//#pragma comment (lib, "d3d9.lib")  // D3D library
//#pragma comment (lib, "d3dx9.lib") // D3DX library

// define the screen resolution
#define SCREEN_WIDTH 800
#define SCREEN_HEIGHT 600

// include the Direct3D Library files
//#pragma comment (lib, "d3d9.lib")
//#pragma comment (lib, "d3dx9.lib")

// global declarations
LPDIRECT3D9 d3d;    // the pointer to our Direct3D interface
LPDIRECT3DDEVICE9 d3ddev;    // the pointer to the device class
LPDIRECT3DVERTEXBUFFER9 v_buffer = NULL;    // the pointer to the vertex buffer

// function prototypes
void initD3D(HWND hWnd);    // sets up and initializes Direct3D
void render_frame(void);    // renders a single frame
void cleanD3D(void);    // closes Direct3D and releases memory
void init_graphics(void);    // 3D declarations

struct CUSTOMVERTEX {FLOAT X, Y, Z; DWORD COLOR;};
#define CUSTOMFVF (D3DFVF_XYZ | D3DFVF_DIFFUSE)

// the WindowProc function prototype
LRESULT CALLBACK WindowProc(HWND hWnd, UINT message, WPARAM wParam, LPARAM lParam);


// the entry point for any Windows program
int WINAPI WinMain(HINSTANCE hInstance,
                  HINSTANCE hPrevInstance,
                  LPSTR lpCmdLine,
                  int nCmdShow)
{
    HWND hWnd;
    WNDCLASSEX wc;

    ZeroMemory(&wc, sizeof(WNDCLASSEX));

    wc.cbSize = sizeof(WNDCLASSEX);
    wc.style = CS_HREDRAW | CS_VREDRAW;
    wc.lpfnWndProc = WindowProc;
    wc.hInstance = hInstance;
    wc.hCursor = LoadCursor(NULL, IDC_ARROW);
    wc.lpszClassName = "WindowClass";

    RegisterClassEx(&wc);

    hWnd = CreateWindowEx(NULL, "WindowClass", "Our Direct3D Program",
                          WS_OVERLAPPEDWINDOW, 0, 0, SCREEN_WIDTH, SCREEN_HEIGHT,
                          NULL, NULL, hInstance, NULL);

    ShowWindow(hWnd, nCmdShow);

    // set up and initialize Direct3D
    initD3D(hWnd);

    // enter the main loop:

    MSG msg;

    while(TRUE)
    {
        while(PeekMessage(&msg, NULL, 0, 0, PM_REMOVE))
        {
            TranslateMessage(&msg);
            DispatchMessage(&msg);
        }

        if(msg.message == WM_QUIT)
            break;

        render_frame();
    }

    // clean up DirectX and COM
    cleanD3D();

    return msg.wParam;
}


// this is the main message handler for the program
LRESULT CALLBACK WindowProc(HWND hWnd, UINT message, WPARAM wParam, LPARAM lParam)
{
    switch(message)
    {
        case WM_DESTROY:
            {
                PostQuitMessage(0);
                return 0;
            } break;
    }

    return DefWindowProc (hWnd, message, wParam, lParam);
}


// this function initializes and prepares Direct3D for use
void initD3D(HWND hWnd)
{
    d3d = Direct3DCreate9(D3D_SDK_VERSION);

    D3DPRESENT_PARAMETERS d3dpp;

    ZeroMemory(&d3dpp, sizeof(d3dpp));
    d3dpp.Windowed = TRUE;
    d3dpp.SwapEffect = D3DSWAPEFFECT_DISCARD;
    d3dpp.hDeviceWindow = hWnd;
    d3dpp.BackBufferFormat = D3DFMT_X8R8G8B8;
    d3dpp.BackBufferWidth = SCREEN_WIDTH;
    d3dpp.BackBufferHeight = SCREEN_HEIGHT;

    // create a device class using this information and the info from the d3dpp stuct
    d3d->CreateDevice(D3DADAPTER_DEFAULT,
                      D3DDEVTYPE_HAL,
                      hWnd,
                      D3DCREATE_SOFTWARE_VERTEXPROCESSING,
                      &d3dpp,
                      &d3ddev);

    init_graphics();    // call the function to initialize the triangle

    d3ddev->SetRenderState(D3DRS_LIGHTING, FALSE);    // turn off the 3D lighting
}


// this is the function used to render a single frame
void render_frame(void)
{
    d3ddev->Clear(0, NULL, D3DCLEAR_TARGET, D3DCOLOR_XRGB(0, 0, 0), 1.0f, 0);

    d3ddev->BeginScene();

    // select which vertex format we are using
    d3ddev->SetFVF(CUSTOMFVF);

    // SET UP THE PIPELINE

    D3DXMATRIX matRotateY;    // a matrix to store the rotation information

    static float index = 0.0f; index+=0.05f;    // an ever-increasing float value

    // build a matrix to rotate the model based on the increasing float value
    D3DXMatrixRotationY(&matRotateY, index);

    // tell Direct3D about our matrix
    d3ddev->SetTransform(D3DTS_WORLD, &matRotateY);

    D3DXMATRIX matView;    // the view transform matrix

    D3DXMatrixLookAtLH(&matView,
                      &D3DXVECTOR3 (0.0f, 0.0f, 10.0f),    // the camera position
                      &D3DXVECTOR3 (0.0f, 0.0f, 0.0f),    // the look-at position
                      &D3DXVECTOR3 (0.0f, 1.0f, 0.0f));    // the up direction

    d3ddev->SetTransform(D3DTS_VIEW, &matView);    // set the view transform to matView

    D3DXMATRIX matProjection;    // the projection transform matrix

    D3DXMatrixPerspectiveFovLH(&matProjection,
                              D3DXToRadian(45),    // the horizontal field of view
                              (FLOAT)SCREEN_WIDTH / (FLOAT)SCREEN_HEIGHT, // aspect ratio
                              1.0f,    // the near view-plane
                              100.0f);    // the far view-plane

    d3ddev->SetTransform(D3DTS_PROJECTION, &matProjection);    // set the projection

    // select the vertex buffer to display
    d3ddev->SetStreamSource(0, v_buffer, 0, sizeof(CUSTOMVERTEX));

    // copy the vertex buffer to the back buffer
    d3ddev->DrawPrimitive(D3DPT_TRIANGLELIST, 0, 1);

    d3ddev->EndScene();

    d3ddev->Present(NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL);
}


// this is the function that cleans up Direct3D and COM
void cleanD3D(void)
{
    v_buffer->Release();    // close and release the vertex buffer
    d3ddev->Release();    // close and release the 3D device
    d3d->Release();    // close and release Direct3D
}


// this is the function that puts the 3D models into video RAM
void init_graphics(void)
{
    // create the vertices using the CUSTOMVERTEX struct
    CUSTOMVERTEX vertices[] =
    {
        { 3.0f, -3.0f, 0.0f, D3DCOLOR_XRGB(0, 0, 255), },
        { 0.0f, 3.0f, 0.0f, D3DCOLOR_XRGB(0, 255, 0), },
        { -3.0f, -3.0f, 0.0f, D3DCOLOR_XRGB(255, 0, 0), },
    };

    // create a vertex buffer interface called v_buffer
    d3ddev->CreateVertexBuffer(3*sizeof(CUSTOMVERTEX),
                              0,
                              CUSTOMFVF,
                              D3DPOOL_MANAGED,
                              &v_buffer,
                              NULL);

    VOID* pVoid;    // a void pointer

    // lock v_buffer and load the vertices into it
    v_buffer->Lock(0, 0, (void**)&pVoid, 0);
    memcpy(pVoid, vertices, sizeof(vertices));
    v_buffer->Unlock();
}

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The pragmas were suggested on another site I found while googling a solution. As you might guess, they didn't help, hence the comment out.

neither d3dx9.lib nor d3dx9d.lib can be found

I changed the order of those files you mentioned. Now it only tells me it can't find dxguid.lib. It stops at whatever the first file is.

It did find d3d9.lib

I did a search for both files. The difference is that this file is in
C:\Program Files\Microsoft SDKs\Windows\v7.0A\Lib
while d3dx9.lib is not. Apparently this is the directory it wants the includes to be in. I'm going to copy that file here and see what happens.

Don't copy the file... Then you just end up with junk everywhere. Just add the file with complete path, or add the folder to the solution so it knows to look there.

SUCCESS

I moved both files into that directory and it worked without errors. Now hopefully I won't have to pester you guys for a while.

Sry, syz, I did it before I saw your post. Should I take them out?

Add the complete path to linker->additional dependencies?

Where in the solution would I add the folder?

I would remove any files you copied because they should not be in those folders. That is not the proper method.

Try adding the paths to where those files are originally located in Linker->General->Additional Library Dependencies

I don't see "additional library dependencies"

I do see "additional library directories" is this what you meant?

I put a directory where both files can be found:

C:\Program Files\Microsoft DirectX SDK (June 2010)\Lib\x86

here are my errors

1>------ Build started: Project: autodidac_dx_2, Configuration: Debug Win32 ------
1> LINK : C:\Documents and Settings\Rian Saville\My Documents\Visual Studio 2010\Projects\autodidac_dx_2\Debug\autodidac_dx_2. exe not found or not built by the last incremental link; performing full link
1>prog.obj : error LNK2019: unresolved external symbol _Direct3DCreate9@4 referenced in function "void __cdecl initD3D(struct HWND__ *)" (?initD3D@@YAXPAUHWND__@@@Z)
1>prog.obj : error LNK2019: unresolved external symbol _D3DXMatrixPerspectiveFovLH@20 referenced in function "void __cdecl render_frame(void)" (?render_frame@@YAXXZ)
1>prog.obj : error LNK2019: unresolved external symbol _D3DXMatrixLookAtLH@16 referenced in function "void __cdecl render_frame(void)" (?render_frame@@YAXXZ)
1>prog.obj : error LNK2019: unresolved external symbol _D3DXMatrixRotationY@8 referenced in function "void __cdecl render_frame(void)" (?render_frame@@YAXXZ)
1>C:\Documents and Settings\Rian Saville\My Documents\Visual Studio 2010\Projects\autodidac_dx_2\Debug\autodidac_dx_2. exe : fatal error LNK1120: 4 unresolved externals
========== Build: 0 succeeded, 1 failed, 0 up-to-date, 0 skipped ==========

Are you sure I can't just copy them into the standard directory?

Yes, I meant "Additional Library Directories." I was reading your comment while typing and messed up.

You can do it however you want, but that is not the right way to do things.

Do you still have the files listed inside Linker->Input->Additional Dependencies? You need them there also.

No, I took them out thinking they'd be redundant but I'll go ahead and add them and see what happens.

Adding the directories just lets the IDE know what paths to search in. You still need to tell it what exact libraries you want to be using.

Okay, cool. That worked. Thanks much :-)

Yep, good luck.