It sounds like you've had too many antivirus installed on the computer -- and didn't completely uninstall them before installing another one. That can cause all kinds of trouble.
Not only does an antivirus have to be uninstalled through (Add/Remove) Programs, but you have to run the antivirus' removal tool from the antivirus company's website to completely get rid of it. Only then can you be sure it's not interfering with what you're trying to do. Nearly every other antivirus will also have a specific removal tool that you have to download from the antivirus's website. Then you have to reboot to finish the uninstallation.
The remnants of a previously installed antivirus can fight with your current one, so it's very important to get rid of all traces of your previous one before installing another.
The "Defender" that comes with Windows 8 is an exception since it comes with Windows 8.
I'm a bit cautious about turning off Webroot since the last time I did that-- Windows Defender automatically kicked in and erased all of my documents, picture and music folders, etc. Basically my account is corrupted.
Certainly Microsoft's "Defender" antivirus is not supposed to delete anything that isn't infected -- and even then it should "quarantine" it and not delete it permanently.
Instead of turning off your antivirus (whatever your current antivirus is) you should first try adding the program you want to run to the antivirus's exceptions list.
I'm going to assume you either have Windows 8 or Windows 10 since you mention "Defender." XP, Vista, and Windows 7 called their antivirus "Security Essentials." "Defender" was a different scanning program on XP, Vista, and Windows 7 -- not an antivirus.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_DefenderAlso went and installed DX8 from another old game as when I tried to install it from the Myst Exile start graphic-- nothing happens except the "Install Shield" icon pops up.
Windows 8 comes with DirectX 11. DirectX 10 and later are not backwards-compatible with DirectX 9.0c and earlier. Instead of trying to install DirectX 8 you should try DirectX 9.0c. This won't install DirectX 9.0c, but may install parts of DirectX 9.0c that aren't included with DirectX 11.
Last question : When I tried to run this game with admin. privileges --it was greyed out and didn't allow for that option ?
Well you already said your account was corrupt. I don't know how many antivirus you've had installed on this computer, but you should go to the websites of the antivirus companies and download their uninstallers. Here is the webpage for Norton's Removal Tool:
https://support.norton.com/sp/en/us/home/current/solutions/kb20080710133834EN_EndUserProfile_en_us