Try to disable any wide screen / hi res options and try to start the game. And try the compatibility mode for XP in Admin mode as well.
What is the trouble with DX 9? Are you in Admin mode? Is your Windows
User Account Control (
UAC) protected? DX 9 is WIN genuine, the one from Microsoft directly, so it should work. Here is some useful information:
http://www.neowin.net/forum/topic/10...-on-windows-8/
I do think we get you started....