A Required .Dll File, Dplayx.dll, Was Not Found.

SYMPTOMS
When you try to start Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings or Microsoft Age of Empires II Expansion: The Conquerors, you may receive the following error message:

A required .dll file, Dplayx.dll, was not found.

CAUSE
This issue may occur if Microsoft DirectPlay 6.1a or later is not installed on your computer.

RESOLUTION
Update Microsoft DirectX
To resolve this issue, download and install the latest version of DirectX. To do this, visit the following Microsoft Web site:
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/directx/downloads

APPLIES TO
• Microsoft Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings
• Microsoft Age of Empires II: The Conquerors Expansion
• Microsoft Age of Empires II Gold Edition