No it doesn't. If all games crash reproducibly at startup with the same error, it's a software issue.

Problems with RAM tend to manifest as *random* crashes and instability, and they tend to affect the entire system. Windows itself, the web browser they're using to communicate here, etc. by themselves are very complicated and heavy programs (and indeed more so than some old dos / win95 era game), if they had so bad RAM that such an old game can't work, then windows too would be crashing left and right.

You do it with dgvoodoo2

http://dege.freeweb.hu/dgVoodoo2/dgVoodoo2/

Instructions are on dege's site, but basically drop the dlls in to the folder with the executable and the configuration file. Use the configuration file to customise the passthrough and correct aspect ratio etc.

Also:
- please confirm that you haven't installed in Programme Files
- check to make sure the folders aren't marked as read only
- please confirm whether you get the same problem with a more modern game from GoG (e.g. the Destroy All Humans or Lego Bricktales demo)

Finally, are the games asking to run in elevated mode and if so, are you allowing this on the UAC prompt?

According to Microsoft it does.

I have no clue which technology gets assigned what part of the memory.

But even if not ... what's wrong with performing a memory test?




The one thing that caught my eye during the last post is that this is an upgraded Windows 10 system (from Windows 7+).
But the system itself is brandnew, so there might be some legacy drivers for his old hardware running in background that cause trouble.
First of all make sure that no old driver software is installeed. If nothing else helps, reset the system. This will mean some reinstalling, but if in the end it works ... why not.

Sorry but you just don't understand the article you linked. Yes, it says "memory error", and no, it does not mean "bad ram."

It means that the software tried to access memory (not necessarily RAM!) in a way it shouldn't. For example, outside the bounds of a buffer (typical bug and vulnerability). Or a null pointer (typical bug: some library function returns a NULL pointer to indicate error / missing resource / whatever, and program doesn't check for the error and crashes upon trying to dereference that pointer).

Less commonly, it can be caused by more modern approaches to memory protection, and this is where the compatibility settings become relevant: an old game may think it can read/write/execute any page assigned to it, while modern systems try to prevent writing of executble memory, execution of stack & heap memory, etcetra. Sometimes flipping on a compatibility mode allows old programs to do as they wish, at cost of redcued security.

If you want an introduction to the subject, I would start here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Segmentation_fault

Armed with the knowledge contained within, you can go back to the Microsoft article you linked and read what it says: "A C0000005 error is memory error. Specifically, a C0000005 error is an access violation error caused by a buffer overrun."

Now, it is possible for bad RAM to cause access violations (e.g. by flipping pointer bits such that when the program dereferences said pointer, it points at some random inaccessible address). But it is extremely random and inconsistent.

Memory to ram is not the only possible conclusion, but it remains one of the possibilities.

So ... why on earth not test it?

NO. It is not an upgraded system. It is an absolutely fresh system. I referenced another system of mine.

On contrary, it's a fresh install explicitly to avoid any leftover junk from previous windows. See op's point #9:

right, my bad.

Let's say it this way:

I would consider a memory issue, IF it would affect all games on my system (I have about 120 or so installed) especially the newer games.
But it does not. It only affects a few old games.
Btw. The situation has changed a bit now.

Playable games on GOG:

Diable 1+Hellfire
Lula
MM7and MM8 with the grayface patch

Not playable games (including errors, if there is any):

Anno 1602 (256 color error or generic 0xc0000005 error)
Anno 1503
MM6 with grayface patch (Sound available and I can use the keyboard, but no grafics window, so I cannot see anything)
MM9 (generic 0xc0000005 error)
STA (generic 0xc0000005 error)
STA2 (generic 0xc0000005 error)

I tested about 50 of my other games and cannot find any issue. So please stop hogging on the memory.

https://www.reddit.com/r/joinsquad/comments/vjho1j/error_0xc0000005_when_starting_game/

This thread suggests that the error could be caused by antivirus - not sure which (if any) you're using, but could try to whitelist the folder/executable

You'd be surprised. When I was building my current PC, it would BSOD with all kinds of whacky errors, ranging from faulty drivers to corrupt files. Sometimes it would mention a memory fault too. I ran the Windows Memory Diagnostic tool (mdsched.exe) and it found hardware fault with the RAM immediately. I refunded those and bought new ones. Not a single BSOD since.

Just because something is new, doesn't mean it can't be faulty.

Also I have Windows 11 on plenty of devices and games run fine.

QFT.

RAM failures are almost always immediate - if a chip is bad or incompatible, it's bad or incompatible from day one. RAM doesn't tend to fail over time; it's not like a SSD that has limited write cycles (largely because it's volatile memory)

That being said, OP's issues tend to be on loading a subset of games. It's highly unlikely to be OS related and as the failure always occurs on launching the game (and the games aren't at all RAM intensive), I'd say it's highly unlikely to be RAM related either.

Of course, that doesn't mean that it wouldn't be sensible to run a RAM test for a few hours just to make sure the chips are good; I just don't think it's the cause of his problems.

Your insightful in-depth posts have convinced me! I wish more people sounded like a Star Wars inspired bot.

Actually, SSD failure is also very immediate. Compared to HDD: you'll get no warnin - and without backup, there's chance of saving some important data.
Its limited write cycles is something else, something you can check up on at any time; it's not some kind of "unexpected failure".