Games and applications CTD with error code 0xc0000005 (memory access violation)

The most typical causes for the ‘0xC0000005: Access Violation’ error are: corrupt registry, malware, faulty RAM or device driver, incorrectly written, installed or updated software or even Windows security features.

How to fix the 0xC0000005 error
0xc0000005 error case 1: Registry

The 0xC0000005 error is often caused by poor maintenance of your computer and corrupt registry entries that pile up as you install and delete programs, especially when you install new programs over old ones that were not completely deleted. To get rid of the 0xC0000005 error you could check all the registry entries manually but this procedure is long and complicated. If you are not a computer expert checking your registry manually may take a few days. In addition, you may damage important registry entries. So if you are not a PC guru use special software to repair your registry.

0xc0000005 error case 2: Virus

Your computer may have a virus and the 0xC0000005 error informs that the system prevented execution of a malicious application. Install the latest


0xc0000005 error case 3: Bad RAM Memory

Quite often this problem results from a faulty RAM memory. This is most likely the reason if you started getting the 0xC0000005 error message after installing a new RAM memory. To check this you can remove the new memory and see if the 0xC0000005 error disappears. If so, get a refund or ask to replace the faulty memory with a good one.
Don’t forget to do the following before you start removing the memory:
1) Turn off your computer and remove all cables (power, network, etc.)
2) Remove the battery (if you have a laptop)
3) Ground yourself out before you touch the memory!!(for example, touch metal screw on a lightswitch).


0xc0000005 error case 4: DEP

Quite often the nasty 0xC0000005 error occurs because of Data Execution Prevention (DEP) introduced by Microsoft in Windows SP2 and used in later versions. DEP is a set of security features that prevents code execution from non-executable memory segments. It’s a vivid illustration of a typical
0xc0000005 error case 5: Printer Drivers

Sometimes 0xC0000005 error occurs when your current printer profile is incompatible with the updated settings of one of the programs you are trying to use. You may reinstall the program, printer drivers or even the entire system over and over again and that won’t help. The reason is that every time you will install the same default user profile included in your printer installation package by the manufacturer. The most simple way to fix 0xC0000005 is to create a new, clean user profile for the printer.
0xc0000005 error case 6: Bad Video Driver

Sometimes 0xC0000005 errors occur after video card driver updates. If that is the case rollback to the drivers you’ve been using before the update. And inform the vendor about the issue.


0xc0000005 error case 7: IE6

The ‘Access Violation (0xC0000005 exception)’ message may appear in IE6 when a web page or a html document contain a SPAN tag which was not correctly closed. As to solutions, why use IE6 at all? Install a later version or use another browser like Mozilla Firefox, Opera or Google Chrome.


0xc0000005 error case 8: Google Chrome

If you are using Google Chrome you may get the following message: ‘The application failed to initialize properly (0xC0000005).


0xc0000005 error case 9: Windows Service Pack

Install the latest Service Pack for Windows. Sometimes that removes the 0xC0000005 error.


0xc0000005 error case 10: Development Issue

If you are a software developer and you keep getting an exception with status code STATUSACCESSVIOLATION (0xC0000005), your program might attempt to violate DEP. You could try the following: If your application is designed to use executable memory, it must have this attribute set on the appropriate memory by specifying PAGEEXECUTE, PAGEEXECUTEREAD, PAGEEXECUTEREADWRITE or PAGEEXECUTEWRITECOPY in the memory protection argument of the Virtual memory allocation functions.
If the above solutions don’t help run your program in debugger. Maybe you haven’t initialized the pointer correctly. When debugger stops on a violation simply check the call stack and open every file until you see what piece of code produced the violation. And don’t forget to check for useful tools listed on this site.


0xc0000005 error case 11: Symantec Antivirus

The 0xC0000005 error may appear if you are using Symantec Antivirus. If the the error message mentions SAVRT.SYS, that must the case. All you have to do is update Symantec Antivirus, that removes the 0xC0000005 error.
We hope the information above helped you resolve the 0xC0000005 error.