I just installed the GOTY edition with all then DLC, when I click play I get "Fallout3.exe - System Error: The program can't start because d3dx9_38.dll is missing from your computer. Try reinstalling the program to fix this problem."

Can anyone please help?

Please Post a FULL dxdiag:
Start - Run (if Vista or Win 7, the search box acts like Run) - type dxdiag - hit Enter - "save all info" button - open txt file and copy/paste EVERYTHING here

Picture of process: http://www.windowsresource.net/cimages/gotodxdiag.jpg

Okay I figured out it's a DirectX problem, so I installed the latest DirectX version, still not working. Do I still need patches even though I have GOTY edition?

Okay I checked all over the internet. On the Fallout website it says a list of supported video cards, and mine is an ATI Radeon HD 5450. It isn't on the list of supported video cards, but I'm not sure if i'm right.

Can anyone please help?

The "Latest Direct3D" isn't what this game runs with. It's a Dx9 game, not Dx10, and not Dx11. Neither of those are adequately backward compatible, but there also is no conflict from having both your "native" Direct3D and the needed Dx9 as well. The HD 5450 is a business grade video card, intended for charts, graphs, presentations, and spreadsheets, not for modern games.

Fallout 3 is not a "modern" game, however; it is based on an elderly game engine and has very lenient minimum requirements, so that potentially that slow business card of yours could be used, at low screen resolutions and low image quality settings. Fallout 3 is a year older than the HD 5450 is, so it couldn't have included any testing to see if the card would work, and the configuration utility couldn't know to set the settings as LOW, so it would default to all Medium, which is too demanding for the card, but after you correct the Dx9 installation situation, you should be able to make the needed adjustments to see whether you find the results on your card satisfactory to you.

FYI, there is a copy of Dx9 right on your game DVD, if you have the hard copy (I have no knowledge about how any Digital Copy might be set up in that regard).

Gorath

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