Error Message “Windows Protection Error” with Windows 95

Problem:

While attempting to boot Windows 95, you receive the following message:

While initializing device IOS:
Windows protection error.  You need to restart your computer

Cause:

This issue is caused by a divide exception in one or more drivers used by Windows 95.

Solution:

You may need to disable the internal CPU cache in the BIOS and/or obtain a driver update.  If you are using an AMD processor, please refer to the following Microsoft support article:

Difficulties Using AMD K6-2 or Athlon Central Processing Unit