DirectX 9.0c problems (Sims2)

Archived from groups: microsoft.public.games (More info?)

So I've been trying to get the Sims2 running on my puter
for almost 2 weeks *cry* Heres the problem: I have
directX 9.0b installed on my computer (according to
DxDiag). When I try to install 9.0c from Microsoft,
it "installs successfully" with no result. When i try to
install from the Sims2 disc, I get to the license
agreement, click yes, and the game installation crashes
with the message "this game requires DirectX 9.0c...
please download from microsoft" The only help i got from
the microsoft web site was that this is evidence my
computer has the latest version installed. Anybody know
how to get around this??