Manually Installing ReShade
Sometimes the ReShade Setup Tool doesn’t include everything you need or may not work with certain games. This guide shows how to install ReShade manually, giving you full control over the process.
When manually installing ReShade, you have to manually install shaders as well.
Identify Your Game’s Architecture and Rendering API
If you already know your game's architecture and Rendering API, you're more than welcome to skip this part of the guide. However, if you are unsure, make sure to navigate to the PCGamingWiki website. This website is home to many wiki pages with just about every game that exists on PC.
Download the ReShade Setup Tool
The next step will be to download the latest ReShade installer from the official ReShade website. The installer holds the ReShade binaries required in order to manually install ReShade.
Download and Install 7-Zip
This guide uses 7-Zip in order to extract the ReShade binaries from the ReShade Installer. You can download and install the latest .msi version from 7-Zip's official website. Keep in mind that WinRAR can serve as an alternative, but this guide utilizes 7-Zip for convenience.
Extract the ReShade DLL
Once 7-Zip is installed, right-click the ReShade Installer ReShade_Setup_x.x.x.exe, hover over 7-Zip, and select the "Open archive" option.
Upon clicking "Open archive," a new window will appear that holds the two ReShade binaries. You can extract the DLL that relates to your game's architecture by dragging the file out of the 7-Zip window to your desktop.
| ReShade Binary Architecture | DLL Name |
|---|---|
| ReShade's 64-Bit Binary | ReShade64.dll |
| ReShade's 32-Bit Binary | ReShade32.dll |
Rename the DLL File
Change the DLL’s name to match your game’s rendering API so the game will load ReShade at startup:
| Rendering API | New DLL Name |
|---|---|
| DirectX 9 | d3d9.dll |
| DirectX 10 | d3d10.dll |
| DirectX 11 | d3d11.dll |
| DirectX 12 | d3d12.dll |
| OpenGL | opengl32.dll |
Move the DLL to Your Game Folder
Copy the renamed DLL into the folder containing your game’s executable (.exe). If you need help finding this folder, follow our guide on finding your game’s executable and directory.
