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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..
Thanks again. (I note, it looks like our replies just got out of order.)
Yes, the issue was the right click. Now, how am, I supposed to know to do that, or even that a right click will do anything! They need to at least give a little hint. How would I know initializing did not put a partition and format on it -- on my Mac, initializing does that automatically.
With that, I was able to select the drive as the target disk.
I am doing it as Disk and Partition Backup, not as File Backup. But they both are under one selection, and cloning is under another. I am not cloning.
Should I have just done the file image? Actually, now that I'm doing the other, I think the plan was to just do the files. I got thrown by the Acronis language and wasn't thinking. Well, once I do this, I can re-do it as just files. Is there any benefit to me to do the partition backup rather than just the file backup, or detriment for doing the file backup rather than the partition backup? I'm not sure why there is even a choice. Under my previous plan top clone, I needed to do files only because of space.
When it did finally start doing it, it said: Creating partition image." Finally they use the word image, so I guess that actually is what it is doing.
It is about 35% along now. I'm guessing it will be a another half hour or hour.
I did leave the HDD as MBR. Still, to my previous question, would this image be bootable if I had done the disk as GTB?
Maybe we are coming to an end, and you will finally be able to go back to your life. :)
Once done, I just wish I could somehow check to see it is all there, and it will boot. You never know when some little glitch corrupted some key stuff and so it is all useless and needs to be redone.
Oh, when the time comes, how do I get the image from the external HDD back over to the internal and not as an image but as the actual files and bootable? All I see that MIGHT be that would the Recovery drop down menu in Acronis -- is that it? (I don't think of that as recovering.) I can't go to that right now while it is imaging.
I'm already in the midst of things before you sent this message. Already did Partition Wizard --now might go re-do it.
BTW, you are over the top staying with me through all this. I don't want to be presumptuous about it, so thank you very much. I do now need help -- problems.
I am now in Acronis, and as far as I can tell, it doesn't do Images or anything else I need to do! It doesn't use the word "Image" anywhere in the software! I appears they have made up their own terms for things.
It seems kind of basic. The only place I can imagine to use is called Backup.
I get to choose "Disk and Partition Backup" or "File Backup."
I selected Disk and Partition Backup. I got a window showing the internal drive, Disk 1, and the five partitions on it. I selected all five partitions to backup, not just the two that were selected automatically.
That window lists Disk 2 (the external, I presume) as empty.
Below that are two checkboxes, the first to select BackUp Sector by Sector (needs more space). The second is grayed out and can't be selected, but is Backup unallocated space. I made no selection there, left the one checkbox box empty.
I then hit Next.
Now I'm supposed to select Backup Target. Target selection choice it "Create New Backup Archive," or "Add to Existing Archive."
What archive?! I just want an image on the backup drive. Why are they saying the term archive!? Everyone says image -- except Acronis. Is that an image? If so, I guess I want a new one, as I don't have a previous one.
I left it under the default selection of Create a New Archive.
Below that, I can browse to the backup location. Except hat I can't --the external hard drive is not under that to select!
All that is under Browse is My Computer, with the C drive, the optical drive, Computers Near Me, and FTP and NAS.
The C drive is what I'm backing up, I don't want to back it up to itself!
It lets me to backup to the optical drive! But not the external HDD, the external HDD is nowhere to be found -- and I even just initialized it with Acronis, and it shows on the home page.
I can't pick to do it to the external drive, and thus I can't proceed beyond that point! And I don't even see that it is planning to make an image, rather than simply copy files. I have no idea what they mean by a archive. Gee, even a .zip file is an archive.
Now, re what you said about formatting as MBR. You say if that is the format, it will not boot. Well, then I think I should format as GUID. Why do you think not? Isn't this Image suppose to boot? If not, OK, MBR. But I would rather it boot if it is able to. I am not planning to otherwise put a bootable OS on this drive.
I did made the external MBR with Partition Wizard. I then in Acronis saw initialize and did that too. I did that as MBR. I can go back in Acronis and do it as GPT instead, if that will make the image bootable on my machine.
EDIT: I have now looked at the drive from booted from the OS. Under Disk Management, it sees the external drive fine. But when I go to the place to do a Image, it does not list the external drive to select as the target location.
Why is the external drive not being allowed as the target location? Do I need to do something more to it so it can be used?
OK... I got a look at the newest version you are using...
The terminology is a bit different...
After you delete everything and convert to MBR, right click on the drive and select "CREATE"...
Drive type should be "Primary" and NTFS... You can give the drive as name if you wish..
Leave everything else as default... Not much to it once you get the hang of it...
Your drive was most likely MBR to start with... Acronis probably converted it to GPT when you did the clone... It needed to be, to match the original.
Hi,
You don't need to "Wipe" the disk... that writes zeros to the entire drive..
It is mostly a security thing if you are discarding the drive or giving it away or something.
Just right click on the partitions you want to delete and select DELETE...
Or the entire drive..
For what you are going to use the drive for, it might be best to convert to MBR...
You will only be allowed four partitions afterwards, and it will no longer be bootable for a Windows Installation with a UEFI machine, but might work better for storage...
After deleting and converting, again right click on the "Unallocated" space on the graphics part of the window and select FORMAT... You will be asked for a file type.
This is where you would select NTFS for the hard drive...
If the question comes up while formatting, select BASIC Disk, or Simple Volume...
Like you, I need to boot my machine to see the options...
I will take a look shortly, and if I see something I forgot I will add it..
