What game? And yes, there usually is a workaround to get a game going. I highly suggest you check out
http://pcgamingwiki.com/wiki/Home They have a fairly large data base of games with common errors and workarounds
Also, If its a game that old and you don't want to hassle with anything
http://www.gog.com/ Might have what your looking for. Most of there games are older PC titles that they create wrapers for, so the games can play on modern systems, though you might have to put down $5-10 to get the game again ^^