Greetings CH,

Over the years i have installed windows over many many times. from windows 95 all the way to windows 8. However once i got into 7 and 8 a few questions came up.

When i installed XP i always installed directX9, netframework 2.0 Java...

But im not sure which version of Directx or if it comes with windows shall i INSTALL? same with netframework?
What other applications are a Must have in windows?
I'm pretty sure DirectX 11 is installed when you install Windows 8. But, to verify this, you could run dxdiag; the info on the System tab will show the DirectX version, if installed.

RE: netframework, running Windows UPDATE should install it if necessary.

If you want to install Java, you will need to download and install it. I have not installed it on my 2 month old laptop running Windows 8 and I'm going to skip it unless an actual need for it arises. So far, I've had no need for it.

Windows Defender that comes with Windows 8 has anti-virus protection. This is not true for Windows 7. Of course, you can opt to install a different antivirus program in Windows 8 if you wish.

Internet Explorer 10 comes with Flash Player already installed. So, no need to search for Flash Player and install it for Internet Explorer, unlike previous versions of Internet Explorer. I agree with Soybean. He is right.

I have been using his software before Bill Gates bought a necktie.
Windows Vista comes with DirectX 10. Windows 7 comes with DirectX 11. Windows 8 comes with DirectX 11.1.

However, in order to run DirectX 9.0 and earlier games on Windows Vista, 7, or 8, you will need to install the DirectX 9.0c redistributable package. the DX 9.0c package installation installs "wrappers", which will cause DX 9.0 calls to be routed through the later version of DirectX. (Vista has some additional compatibility CONSIDERATIONS since it doesn't require DX10+ from the hardware, and works with DX9).