Swap the 133 back in and verify if you can boot or install windows would be a good first thing to do next.
If you can, the quickchip 3D is likely your problem, if not then the problem lies elsewhere. You could then go on to reseat the memory.

I was just in Windows somehow, no idea how, but I can't reproduce it. I had reflashed the BIOS to the latest I could find (I think it was the same I was running, but I couldn't find a version number before), but it also didn't work the first few attempts after that.

At bootup, the BIOS identified the chip at a Pentium 133, then I was able to boot into safe mode, and then reboot into "normal" mode. However, I noticed that two of my hard disks had been renamed to "We the peop", so I'm guessing I've somehow picked up a virus? Not sure that explains all the issues though, and I did reformat all the drives except for C, since they were blank anyways.

How fast is this quick chip? You may need the K6II speed patch. Here's a complete fix pack:

https://msfn.org/board/topic/141402-windows-9 … u-limit-broken/

An excerpt:

"Windows 95 has two specific errors when dealing with processors

with speeds higher than 350 MHz. With a little patience however,

both of these errors are fixable.

The first error occurs with processors greater than 350 MHz.

Microsoft released a patch for this error, AMDK6UPD.EXE. This

patch IS NOT just for AMD processors. It will work for Intel

Pentium 4 processors as well. The problem with Microsoft's patch

is that it must be run from within Windows. When your system

encounters this error, you will not be able to boot into Windows.

This error will be displayed on the first reboot during the

installation process.

Here is the text of the error:

While initializing device IOS:

Windows Protection Error. You need to restart your computer.

The only way to fix this error is to manually install the files

contained in the Microsoft AMDK6UPD.EXE patch. This package automates

the process for you, so I will not go into further detail on that

issue here."

200MHz. My understanding is that it’s just a WinChip 2 under the covers.

Sunoo wrote on 2022-03-12, 18:50:

200MHz. My understanding is that it’s just a WinChip 2 under the covers.

Give it a shot... your machine is displaying all the signs of the "fast CPU" Windows 95 problem, in my experience with the sudden reboots and protection errors.

I'll try it, but it seems like it's for a slightly different error than I'm seeing?

While initializing device IOS:
Windows Protection Error. You need to restart your computer.

Theirs says IOS where mine says VXDLDR.

There was an issue with trademarks/brands, I vaguely remember.
The proccesor wasn't allowed to be sold under its "WinChip" name in some country (Germany?) - maybe that's why it has the sticker on it.

Windows 3.1 and 98/98SE should be ok with it, also.
These both systems do run well on niche processors in general.

Okay, I installed the patch, first boot I got:

While initializing device IOS:
Windows Protection Error. You need to restart your computer.

Second attempt was:

While initializing device IOS: Error: An 1/0 subsystem driver failed to load. Either a file in the .\iosubsys subdirectory is co […]
Show full quote

While initializing device IOS:
Error: An 1/0 subsystem driver failed to load.
Either a file in the .\iosubsys subdirectory is corrupt,
or the system is low on memory.

And when I attempted to boot into safe mode, I got a sudden reboot.

Another attempt into safe mode and it worked, I run the VMM2XUPD.EXE program as the readme for the patch suggested, rebooting into standard Windows also worked, but the BIOS reported a Pentium 133.

After that one successful attempt though, I now seem to consistently get reboots at the Windows logo screen.

Jo22 wrote on 2022-03-12, 19:12:

There was an issue with trademarks/brands, I vaguely remember. The proccesor wasn't allowed to be sold under its "WinChip" name […]
Show full quote

There was an issue with trademarks/brands, I vaguely remember.
The proccesor wasn't allowed to be sold under its "WinChip" name in some country (Germany?) - maybe that's why it has the sticker on it.

Windows 3.1 and 98/98SE should be ok with it, also.
These both systems do run well on niche processors in general.

When I did get into Windows, I noticed that it showed up as "CentaurHauls".

But are you saying that this is an issue with Windows 95 and I need to either upgrade to Win98 or downgrade to Win3.1?

It was rebooting on a loop, and I just noticed it came up in the BIOS as a Pentium 133 again, and that allowed it to boot into Windows (non-safe mode) again. This issue really doesn't make any sense to me...

As weedeewee suggests, try booting with 1 RAM stick at a time, different RAM, reseating, etc.

It's worth a try to apply the patch after install has been completed, but generally reinstalling and applying the patch during the install gives the best results. Try reinstalling Windows 95, but RIGHT AFTER the first REBOOT (as documented), use the patched floppy (or ISO if your machine can boot from CD) to update with the K6 and related patches as indicated in the article. Then the installation will continue afterward without any protection errors (or any others for that matter...).

If this doesn't work, try installing Windows 98 FE or SE to confirm if it is the new CPU causing you trouble.

I can't reinstall Windows though, that is also not working. Before I could get into the installer GUI and it'd reboot after like the first prompt (don't recall what that prompt says), but currently it just hangs forever at "Please wait while Setup initializes."

Sunoo wrote on 2022-03-12, 19:37:

I can't reinstall Windows though, that is also not working. Before I could get into the installer GUI and it'd reboot after like the first prompt (don't recall what that prompt says), but currently it just hangs forever at "Please wait while Setup initializes."

Install the old CPU, reinstall windows, after the first reboot, apply the patch (as documented), power down, then change the CPU back to the new one and see what happens.

It stopped even booting from floppy, so I swapped the Pentium back in, and it won't boot anything there either.

So my current state is "Operating system not found" without a boot floppy, just hanging with no message displayed after seek the disk a bit with a floppy... I think somehow I've ruined this thing?

Sunoo wrote on 2022-03-12, 19:54:

It stopped even booting from floppy, so I swapped the Pentium back in, and it won't boot anything there either.

So my current state is "Operating system not found" without a boot floppy, just hanging with no message displayed after seek the disk a bit with a floppy... I think somehow I've ruined this thing?

Pull all power, take the battery out. Wait 1 minute or 2.

While you're waiting, make sure all of your expansion cards are seated properly and check the same for RAM.

Connect back up with the P133, and see what happens.

At this point, I would probably be removing everything I don't need for the PC to boot and with minimum RAM installed, but this is up to you.

Okay, part of the problem seems to be the boot floppy I was using went bad somehow. Even though the USB floppy drive I was using to write images to it can still read and write to it, the old floppy drive can't read anything off it. I can now consistently boot into Win95 with the Pentium installed, and with a different floppy, I'm able to boot into the boot disk again as well...

I'm guessing this is pretty solid evidence that either something is wrong with the CPU I bought, or maybe the BIOS just doesn't like it? Even though it can boot into DOS just fine, and into Windows whenever the BIOS decides it's a Pentium 133...

Sunoo wrote on 2022-03-12, 20:12:

Okay, part of the problem seems to be the boot floppy I was using went bad somehow. Even though the USB floppy drive I was using to write images to it can still read and write to it, the old floppy drive can't read anything off it. I can now consistently boot into Win95 with the Pentium installed, and with a different floppy, I'm able to boot into the boot disk again as well...

I'm guessing this is pretty solid evidence that either something is wrong with the CPU I bought, or maybe the BIOS just doesn't like it? Even though it can boot into DOS just fine, and into Windows whenever the BIOS decides it's a Pentium 133...

Check this article out. It says the BIOS reading the CPU as the old is normal.

https://www.pny.com/tech/quickchipprocessor/index.cfm

Have you checked the maximum CPU capabilities of your motherboard? What motherboard are you using? Do you have all of the jumpers set for FSB, voltage, etc? Was there any accompanying documentation? It's tough to find some kind of manual for this. I keep coming up only with the 133MHz for a 486.

That link 404s for me, but maybe I wasn’t explaining clearly, so let me try again: Sometimes the BIOS reads the CPU as a Pentium 133 and it boots fine, but other times it reads it as a Pentium ??? and those times it doesn’t boot past the Windows logo.

Sorry I copied the link wrong from my other searches:

This article shows the BIOS displaying wrong CPU is cosmetic:
http://www.scpcug.com/wmwand08.html

I think this is your CPU, IDTC6-2-200:
https://www.pchardwarelinks.com/cpu_proc.htm PNY QuickChip 3D 200 - IDTC6-2-200 into Socket 5 and 7.
https://www.cpushack.com/gallery-1/idt/idtc6-psmf200ga-2/

You need 3.3v, 3x multiplier, and 66MHz FSB. Is this set?