ela s.,

The d3dx9_43.dll file is part of Microsoft's Direct X. Try installing the latest version available from Microsoft. Depending on which operating system you use, you may require an older Version for example if you are still running the old Win XP then DX10 is the most recent one you can use. The direct X series of programs relate to 3D games. The higher the Direct X number the more realistic movement can look for example a flag. In the latest versions there are many nodes compared to say DX 8 or 9, so looking at the movement of a flag in DX 8 or 9 does not look as realistic or fluid as say Direct X 11 or 12

You can download the library file from various sources, but I would stick with Microsoft to ensure you are getting a safe download. If you do go elsewhere make sure you check the downloaded file with your anti malware suite.

Whiterabbit-uk,

Thanks for your help - very much appreciated as always.

Checking with dxdiag.exe, it says the latest DirectX version 12 is installed.

So it won't work. Sys: Win 10 64-bit

"Game does'nt start. Error message: Code can't be continued since d3d9_43.dll is missing."

d3d9_43.dll is part of Direct X 9. While the Direct X version included in Win10 has most of the stuff that was in v.9, it doesn't include everything. So if/when folks wanted to run a game in Win10 that required DX9, they simply installed DX9, which was fine. Unfortunately today however, you'll face a couple of roadblocks... One, you can no longer get the DX9 setup files from Microsoft, and 2, while it seems Microsoft did some work to the DX9 setup files to improve installation & compatibility in Win10, since Microsoft no longer hosts those files for download, what you do find might require also installing the older .NET 3.5.

I found the setup file at filehorse -- note that if you use Google search to find the DX9 setup, if you click the 3 dots next to the results you'll now see something about the web site that result links to.
filehorse[.]com/download-directx-9/

This *might* also interest from a tech standpoint, though it's not a DX9 download.
walbourn.github[.]io/not-so-direct-setup/

ela s., Win10 doesn't enable DirectPlay by default. Open Control Panel, select Programs and features. Select "Turn Windows features on or off" Find "Legacy Components" and Click on the Plus Sign.
Check the box to enable DirectPlay.

ela s., it looks like this might be a problem caused to some users by the Win10 update to DirectX 12, although I was able to run the game on my Win 10 x64 laptop without a problem so I must be one of the lucky ones...! Hopefully it will be fixed in future updates, but in the meantime you could try fixing your DirectX to install missing files by using the "DirectX End-User Runtime Web Installer", which sadly doesn't appear to be available from Microsoft any more but is available from other websites, such as this reputable one - https://www.softpedia.com/get/System/OS-Enhancements/DirectX-End-User-Runtime-Web-Installer.shtml

Good luck!

Jim Bielick, Thanks for this tip.

This could be the solution, since DirectPlay wasn't activated.

Unfortunately, I have uninstalled the game after 3 installations, but this might help others who kept it.

You are all a great team!

Reynaldo,

Hi Reynaldo, please read my reply to ela s's comment. Thank you.

Whiterabbit-uk,

It's my understanding that Microsoft no longer offers a DirectX download; you must use Windows update.

From Microsoft: "To get the latest version of DirectX for your version of Windows, use Windows Update. If you have Windows 10, then you already have the latest version of DirectX installed. Not all versions of Windows can run the latest versions of DirectX."

Michael Summerset,

Hi Michael, I doubt it; that said, I've played several levels and haven't had any issues running the game so far.