The 1709 update has attempted to fix the Direct Play issue.
With Win10 v1709, if you disable Legacy Components > Direct Play, and run a game that requires it, Windows will pop up a Compatibility
error message that offers to 'install' Direct Play.
- This should re-enable Legacy Components > Direct Play. If not, the manual option via Programs and Features should work.
[ EDIT: Dec '19 - Apparently the change made by MS describe above has caused problems with enabling Direct Play via Programs and Features.
Curious that MS went the complicated route when they could have just switched Direct Play to enabled by default with the 1709 update.
Those who are having this problem enabling Direct Play may find it will enable if they boot into Safe Mode ?
I think the real issue here is...
Why did MS make Direct Play off by default on Win10 if they intended promoting Win10 as 'the best gaming Windows ever' ?
How is having Direct Play enabled by default going to be a problem for people who don't play old games ?
Are the Windows developers in the gaming department Ivory Tower so out of touch that they didn't realise how many
people still play old games ? Or do they just not care ? How many votes for the later ?
While 1709 may have introduced this issue, it has not affected everyone using 1709 (I have switched Direct Play off/on several times
since the 1709 update), but it may be just one more example of why these bi-annual version updates are going to become on
going headaches for Win10 users. These very large 'patches' to Windows are inherently dangerous. The bigger the patch the greater
the chance of corruption - Murphy's Law - v2.0087 ;D ]