Thanks for all the replies guys. It's been a learning experience.
The long method I posted above has the advantage of being able to force set all games or a bunch of executables all at once to the same or a dx9 version of choice.
A simple version using Steam I found:
How do I force a working DirectX level and video mode?
If the Valve/Source game fails to load with the default settings, you will need to test for a working DirectX level and video mode.
Force a DirectX level
This process may help with some older video cards - some users report the game will run faster, as well:
Open Steam
Go to the "Library"
Right-click the game which needs to be reconfigured
Select "Properties" from the menu
Click the "Set launch options..." button
Remove any launch options currently shown.
Type one of the DirectX level launch options specified below in the box
DirectX Level Launch Options
-dxlevel 90 (DirectX v9.0)
-dxlevel 81 (DirectX v8.1)
-dxlevel 80 (DirectX v8.0)
Fugitive you made a good point but it looks like dx10 runs fine for me and using non modern gfx card settings also helps avoid any problems.
What I mean by that is not using anything in the Nvidia control panel that I don't remember being there for years.
