Vista - d3dx9_40.dll was not found

I just installed a new game. Immediately upon attempting to run the game I get the following error message:

d3dx9_40.dll was not found

After some searching around the web it was suggested that I update DirectX. However, it appears that I am running the most recent version, DirectX 10. I am reluctant to update something that appears to be up to date.

Here's what I've got:

Dell Inspiron 530 Quadcore
6GB RAM
Vista Home Premium x64
DirectX 10
Nvidia Geforce 9500 GT 512 MB

Vista is up to date and all my drivers appear to be up-to-date.

It is true that d3dx9_40.dll is missing, but some of the suggestions I found on the web indicate that I should not merely download this dll.

I am not a big gamer, just wanted to look at this game, and am reluctant to spend hours and hours reconfiguring my system, but I would like to know why I am getting this error and why DirectX 10 doesn't include d3dx9_40.dll.

I apologize if this is addressed elsewhere, I looked and didn't find anything that directly addresses this question.

Thanks in advance for any suggestions.

Hello Travelin,
If you go here and download DX9, it should cure your problems.
Hope this helps, good luck and post your results.

Download details: DirectX End-User Runtime

d3dx9 is directx 9 - the game should have installed it, but sometimes they don't.

Download install the mar_2009 directx 9.0c redistributable:

Download details: DirectX Redist (March 2009)


EDIT:

Beaten by Stoney

Only just though mate, you'll get me next time I'm sure.

Thank you stoneys-nutz and smarteyeball for replying so quickly. Please forgive my ignorance, but can DirectX 9 and DirectX 10 coexist in the same system? If I install DirectX 9 will it affect my installation of DirectX 10?

Thanks for your help.

Yes they will happily co-exist

They will both run as and when needed, so there will be no problems.
It's quite safe to download and have both.
Good luck and post your results.

Thanks to you both. I'll do it and report back. BTW, the link you provide is for DirectX End User Runtimes, but does not indicate the version of DirectX being installed. I assume as you noted above, my existing installation of DirectX 10 will not be affected by installing the End User Runtimes you linked me to.

Thanks again.

Thank you gentlemen. DirectX End User Runtimes installed as you suggested. No problems with installation. Game runs perfectly.

Problem solved! Awesome!!

Your welcome. glad you got it fixed.