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I am trying for the first time to boot my Windows 8.1 laptop from the internal CD-DVD drive. I have a bootable CD in there, and yes, I do have the bios set with CDROM drive as first in the list to boot from. But when I try to boot from the CD, it won't boot, instead the computer gives me this message:
"ATAPI CDROM has been blocked by the current security policy."
(Its actually a DVD drive.) All it lets me do at that message is hit the Enter key to OK the message, and then it boots from the hard drive.
I have no idea where "security policy" settings are or what they are set for. What do I have to do to get this to boot?
This is a Gateway laptop, 2.2 MHz Intel Pentium processor, 4 GB RAM, 64 bit OS, with Windows 8.1 fully updated, and Windows Defender running and fully updated.
I have already looked everywhere I can find, but nothing seems to address this message or issue, as follows:
*I went to Help menu to look up "Security Policy." While the computer is giving me the message about "security policy," the Help menu has no idea what "security policy" is, it just comes up blank!
*I went to Control Panels/System and Security/Action Center/Change Windows Settings/Smart Screen/... All I found in there that might be involved is a setting to block anything downloaded from the Internet until I give administrator access. Well, the booting issue didn't allow me to give administrator access (yes, I am the administrator) when I tried to boot, I only could hit the enter key to OK. Nonetheless, I changed to: notify me but proceed (not a quote).
With that, I tried again, but it still would not boot from the CD, got the same message, so that setting is not it. I changed the setting back.
I see no other setting there that could be related by even a stretch. And the control panels should be dealing with the OS anyway, and this is happening while trying to boot from the OS on the CD, not the hard drive. That is, this is something in the root.
*I then went into bios area (UEFI Firmware) by sweeping in from the right and into Settings/Change PC settings ..., and found a tab in bios for Security. Looking there, there is a list of things, but it lets me access only "Supervisor Password." It was currently set as "clear," meaning no password. I left it as that -- surely I can't need a password just to boot from a CD, and the message I got in trying to boot from the CD did not allow me to enter a password.
Other settings in the Security tab were not accessible. The only ones they included that might be remotely related were:
*Password on Boot, which was set as no password. But again, the message I get with this issue does not ask for nor allow me to enter a password.
*Secure Boot Mode: Standard (It does not let me access to change that.)
Some others also were in the list that are not worth listing, not even vaguely related.
I then went into some other things elsewhere in the main settings called Startup Settings. The only thing in there that sounded the least bit vaguely related was "Enable boot logging." I punched F2 to go into that, but the machine instead restarted, and did not start from the CDROM, same message again. I went back to it, and it is still listed as Enable boot logging, does not instead say Disable - so I don't know if anything even got changed. I did not touch it again, left it as-is.
So, that's it. I've checked all the settings I know about. Nothing about this bit about "ATAPI CDROM has been blocked by current security policy."
I tested with two DVDs that I have booted from in the past on other Windows machines -- they also would not boot, but they did not give me that message.
I note, all three CDs/DVDs are being read fine by the DVD drive once the machine is booted in Windows 8.1 from the hard drive - so the issue is not that the DVD drive can't read the disks.
Where is this "security policy" set?! What do I need to do to get this to boot from the CD?
Locked Question. This question was migrated from the Microsoft Support Community. You can vote on whether it's helpful, but you can't add comments or replies or follow the question.
Hi,
So everything is back to normal... or at least working to your satisfaction ?
You seem to know more about manipulating your email than I do, but though I may be able to help by describing what my screen looks like !
I know how that kind of conversation goes... Not so much with Microsoft, but with my internet provider sometimes..
Hi,
Do you possibly have a "TRIAL" version of Acronis ?
There may be issues with how you converted the drive to GPT and Formatted it...
For one thing, you mention creating the 125GB partition AFTER making it NTFS...
That won't work as described... the partitions need to be created before formatting NTFS... If you made the 125GB by Shrinking the larger one, that might work, but it would then need to be formatted also...
I don't actually know why it would be saying that your internal drive would not be bootable... I don't think I've ever had that message...
If your Acronis is a trial version, some of the features like recovering to a smaller drive may not be available...
I hate to say it, but you may need to start over and make your USB HDD GPT with Partition Wizard... The Windows Disk Management may have messed things up...
You don't want to use Cloning... but it's your machine... do what ever you want..
You are concerned about not having enough space already... Cloning will use your ENTIRE USB drive for a SINGLE Clone... You will be out of luck for anything else, unless you purchase more USB HDDs...
Imaging is by far the preferred method, but I don't understand why you are having these issues...
Thanks. Its still doing the files recovery, and while it says it has only 1 1/2 minutes to go, it looks to be only half done so must have more like an hour and a half to go. I will update all after its done, can't go back and look at things while it is running.
But I can tell you, what you are describing is not how I had it. And don't forget, if I pick "Recoverable disks and partitions," it will neither let me recover to the same hard drive, even though a different partition, as the Image file is on, nor will it be bootable when done even if recovered to the internal drive, according to that warning. So that option will not do what I need done. I can't imagine why you can do that but I can't.
I sure hope this files recovery boots -- otherwise I'm afraid I'm looking at another three months of research to find out what's what. Well, I would have to resort to cloning after all, because Imaging will have failed to produce bootable recovery files. I would have to figure out how to clone files only, so they would fit on the external drive, and all the files needed to boot.
After picked Full disk or partitions, yes, I got a screen with check boxes, and I checked all the partitions to recover. Hmm, come to think of it, it showed all the partitions, I guess it can already see that in the image?
Oh, did I prepare the hard drive properly? I used the OS to erase the partition on it, which was the entire drive, and then I used the Disk Manage function, and right clicking on the hard drive icon in there (not on the listing for it, as when I click on the listing, I can't do the change to GPT) to select to change it to GPT. I checked, and it still said MBR. I closed Disk Management, reopened it, and it then said it was GPT. I checked several more times, and it always GPT from then on. I then formatted the drive as NT--. I then created the 125 GB partition. End or preparing the HDD.
Hi,
A bit of an update... I've been using an older version of Acronis, so I thought I better get a look at what is going on in Version 2016... About the same, but slightly different...
Here are the steps I would use to Recover an image to a different drive than it was created from...
1st screen... Click on RECOVER... My Disks... in the center of the screen...
2nd screen... Browse to stored image... select it and hit next..
3rd screen... select "Recover Disks and Partitions"
4th screen... Select Items To Recover... This is the location you do not select the box for DISK... select the individual partitions... this is where there may be an extra check box..
If there is, don't check it...
5th screen... Specify Recovery Settings of C:...
Select "New Location"... Select your 125GB partition...
If it is "Unallocated" it will be Greyed out...
If it is Unallocated, that means it didn't get created\formatted properly.
Hi,
You want to use "Recoverable disks and partition" as the first selection...
The part where I said not to do the full disk would be on another step after you select the Image you want to Recover...
Did you get a screen with options with check boxes... probably with all of the partitions on your Image ? This would be the area where you don't want to check the box for "DISK"... just check the boxes for the individual partitions...
There may be one extra box... That is the one you do not want to select... I'm not sure what this looks like on a GPT Image... I have never done one... Only MBR...
You might want to leave the 125GB "Unallocated" and see if it will then appear in the selection...
You never know... I might be wrong about Recovering Files not booting...
I don't think you will lose your image... It may just resize stuff so that your RECOVERY will fit somewhere...
BTW... The screen where you select the destination should have a Graphic Layout somewhat similar to Partition Wizard... It should be showing ALL of the partitions on the drive...
