Cyrix 5x86 or 6x86 CPU Reported as 486 (156437)


The information in this article applies to:

  • Microsoft Windows 95
This article was previously published under Q156437

SUMMARY

When you are viewing the General tab in System properties, a Cyrix 5x86 or 6x86 CPU is reported as a 486 CPU. In Windows 95 OEM Service Release 2 (OSR2), the processor is reported as "CyrixInstead."

MORE INFORMATION

The Cyrix CPUs were developed and released after the algorithm used by Windows 95 to detect CPUs was finished. Windows 95 does not have the information necessary to recognize the chip. NexGen and other non-Intel chips may be reported in a similar manner. OSR2 recognizes most non-Intel CPUs. This does not affect the processing power of the CPU while running Windows 95.

Some programs (mostly games) look for a Pentium CPU and may report that you must have a Pentium-class CPU in order to run the program. Many of these programs will operate normally despite this error message. Contact the program's manufacturer for a possible resolution if you encounter problems trying to run any program that requires a Pentium processor.

This behavior also occurs in the Registration Wizard.
Modification Type:MajorLast Reviewed:7/24/2001
Keywords:kbHardware KB156437
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