DirectX redist installation takes 10 minutes

[rwrjr]

I first noticed this when running a Steam game for the first time, although I don't think it is related to Steam because I tried downloading and running the June 2010 DirectX redist directly from Microsoft's website (Download DirectX End-User Runtimes (June 2010) from Official Microsoft Download Center) and ended up with the same problem.

Basically, the DirectX redist installation process suddenly takes far longer than it should. Previously (until a week or so ago) it would take about 1 minute at most to complete; now it takes 10 times as long. I'm trying to find out what the cause of this might be and how to fix it.

During the installation process, my hard drive activity indicator is barely active at all (meaning, it shouldn't be a problem with the hard drive that is causing this). Also, I have plenty of RAM available (only about 4 gigs out of 16 is being used).

Looking at my running processes in the Task Manager, I see that the following tasks are started: DXSETUP.exe, which is running through the duration of the installation process, and infinst.exe, which starts and stops frequently (it opens for about 1 second, then closes for about 4 seconds, and the cycle repeats over and over).

I have been unable to find any useful information about infinst.exe, or whether it may be one of the causes of this problem.

I haven't installed any strange or unusual software recently, and I ran a SpyBot check which turned up nothing. My anti-virus program is Microsoft Security Essentials.

Other prerequisites for Steam games, like Visual Studio C++ redistributable, install at normal speed with no problem, and I haven't noticed decreased performance with any other program. It's only DirectX which does this.

Any information or advice would be useful.

 

[A Guy]

Welcome to Seven Forums rwrjr. First thing I'd ask is why the constant DirectX redist installs? You should only need to install it once. And only update if a newer version was available/required.

infinst.exe is the The Intel Chipset Software Installation Utility

The Intel® Chipset Software Installation Utility installs the Windows* INF files. The INF files inform the operating system how to properly configure the chipset for specific functionality, such as AGP, USB, Core PCI, and ISAPNP services.

https://downloadcenter.intel.com/Detail_Desc.aspx?lang=eng&DwnldID=6536

It sounds like your games are constantly trying to install directx and the chipset drivers. I'm not a gamer, so I don't know if there is a way to skip that part. If you indeed have up to date drivers and directx, you should never have to install them again. I believe the games just do not know you do, and so try to install the required items.

Why that time has changed is hard to say, but trying to install either/both over and over would probably do more harm then good. Hopefully someone else will have personal experience with this.

A Guy

 

[rwrjr]

Thank you for replying.

Unfortunately, part of the process of launching a Steam game for the first time involves mandatory installation of a series of prerequisites, regardless if we already have newer versions installed or not. This includes DirectX, and also frequently Visual C++ for Visual Studio. As far as I know, there is no way to prevent these installations from occurring (I believe Valve has discussed this issue in the past as something they'd like to change in Steam, but no progress on that yet).

It's not so much that DirectX takes so long to install - more that I'm worried about the reason it is taking so long. In other words, if it turned out to be a benign issue, I wouldn't mind it too much. But I think the fact that the Intel Chipset software executable is rapidly opening and closing during the installation of DirectX may be indicative of a more serious problem.

 

[A Guy]

I see lots of Steam threads about removing files so it doesn't do that check, etc. But at least your games work, and just the long check is your concern. I would run the System File Checker, see if it finds and corrects any errors. Normally, running a directx installer will only replace any missing or corrupt dx files. it's possible that check of files is slower due to all the reinstallations. If the SFC does not find any errors, I wouldn't worry about the lengthy time, it seems the Steam is buggy in that it should be able to confirm correct dx files and chipset drivers, but instead, it is running both checks every time.

http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/1538-sfc-scannow-command-system-file-checker.html

A Guy

 

[rwrjr]

Ok. So I ran the sfc scannow command, which took about 10 minutes or so to go through the "verifying files" process, after which the window quickly closed. So I assume that means it did not find any errors.

After it was finished I got the DirectX redistributable from Microsoft's site and tried the installation again. It seemed to be somewhat quicker this time around - about 7 minutes or so - though still quite a bit longer than it had previously.

If you don't think there could be a more serious problem causing the delay, then I guess I'm fine just dealing with a bit more waiting time for now, at least until I get a chance to do a reinstall of Windows. If you happen to think of any other check or fix I could try, please let me know.

 

[A Guy]

See if you have a log. Follow OPTION THREE of the tutorial and see if you get a sfcdetails.txt. A Guy

 

[rwrjr]

Done. Here's the log. My impression is that everything was verified successfully and nothing was repaired, I think?

Final entries are:

2014-02-23 19:58:50, Info CSI 00000309 [SR] Repairing 0 components
2014-02-23 19:58:50, Info CSI 0000030a [SR] Beginning Verify and Repair transaction
2014-02-23 19:58:50, Info CSI 0000030c [SR] Repair complete

 

[limkavitch]

Right click on Steam icon and the "Run as Administrator". Setup will now run in 1 minute!