What's a good software that can monitor an install and record every change made

[BirdDad]

to my computer? I am not talking about uninstallers. I want to be able to copy the registry changes and all the game's data onto another computer.
The problem I am having is this: when I install old games they automatically install directx9.0c without asking. I am on Windows 7 and 8.1 PCs. I get weird graphical glitches my NVIDA based systems the display driver constantly crashes even when not in games.
How do I set up one windows machine to be the "sacrifice" and what software should I use(preferably free) to record this? Then just copy the game's folder and all reg values and anything else it installs over to my good computers which I don't want messed up again.
Or is there a way to prevent DX9c from being installed in the first place?

 

[BirdDad]

Or how do I reinstall the directX version that is supposed to be on my PCs after directX9c has been installed?
I don't find nothing in the M$ site about this except that there should be no problems installing DX9c on a new machine.
There are no links to download DirectX11 or whatever W7 and W8.1 use.

 

[code65536]

procmon can monitor everything a program does.

That having been said, I don't think DX is the problem. There is a lot of confusion over what DX actually is. There is DirectX in the OS. And then there are the DirectX runtime libraries that applications install. The runtimes are not system components and do not replace system components. They are runtimes, much like the MSVC runtimes, and are loaded on a per-process basis--not system-wide--for individual processes that require them into that process's address space. And they are versioned. So you can have many different versions of the DX runtimes on your system, and the program you install will use (and can only use) the runtime version that it was compiled for.

Most people do not realize that these are separate, leading to the common misconception that they are "installing DirectX" when they are really installing a runtime library. The DX9 runtimes should not be causing (and cannot cause) problems with the system in general. You're better off making sure you have the latest drivers direct from nvidia.com. Also, glitching could be the result of a hardware fault.

 

[oynaz]

-snip-
*A very nice post*
-snip-

Also, glitching could be the result of a hardware fault.

That is putting it mildly. I am willing to bet a cold beer and a large ice cream that this is in fact Briddad's problem.

 

[BirdDad]

Maybe it is my problem. I've tried it on four different PC's and the same thing happens to all of them. Two are running Windows 8.1 and the other two are running 7 and 8 all 64 bit.
Can procmon list the changes made? That is the trouble I have with uninstallers is that they don't tell you what changes are made to your disk they just uninstall without telling you what they are doing.
I looked at it but it seems to be lacking that nfo.

 

[oynaz]

On 4 different PCs?

Malware?
Or a truly broken electrical system in your house?

 

[BirdDad]

It is not malware, I have tried installing Majesty 2 (legit copy) on 4 PCs everyone of them the display driver failed even when not in games.
There are others but that is the one I want installed most.
It is not electrical problems either my PCs run on UPSs.

 

[John Connor]

Download the latest DirectX and see if it works. Update your graphics driver. http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=35

Try running the old game in compatibility mode for XP and disable visual themes.

http://superuser.com/questions/694734/what-does-compatibility-option-disable-visual-themes-do

 

[Kaido]

What's a good software that can monitor an install and record every change made

http://www.softpedia.com/get/System/System-Info/InstallRite.shtml

https://web.archive.org/web/20131105052937/http://www.mlin.net/StartupMonitor.shtml

http://www.crystalidea.com/install-tracker-installation-monitor

 

[Kaido]

to my computer? I am not talking about uninstallers. I want to be able to copy the registry changes and all the game's data onto another computer.
The problem I am having is this: when I install old games they automatically install directx9.0c without asking. I am on Windows 7 and 8.1 PCs. I get weird graphical glitches my NVIDA based systems the display driver constantly crashes even when not in games.
How do I set up one windows machine to be the "sacrifice" and what software should I use(preferably free) to record this? Then just copy the game's folder and all reg values and anything else it installs over to my good computers which I don't want messed up again.
Or is there a way to prevent DX9c from being installed in the first place?

Have you tried installing the games into a Windows virtual machine under VMware Player? It supports DirectX 9 accelerated graphics with the "Accelerate 3D graphics" option.