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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,
My interpretation of that is that it is repeatedly connecting to the internet and accessing something "From" the internet...
I just thought of something... I'm wondering if that particular file is CHECKING FOR UPDATES everytime you boot...
You might find something in Scheduled Tasks for that file....
Actually, it says it is FROM the Internet, not connected to the Internet. That message comes up on anything downloaded from the Internet, well, any .exe anyway, maybe anything, the first time you try to use it. You don't get it because you have all your messages turned off. Once you say its fine, and proceed, that message doesn't come up again - except on this one after the Win 10 upgrade. This went from February to now without that message coming up all the time.
Hey, we are in the Windows 10 forum. :) But yes, to post that separately might get MS to fix it. Perhaps tomorrow. Meanwhile I have worked around it with the exclusion. I also was thinking I could possibly just uninstall it and then install it anew - maybe then it would be identified properly. But if you are aware of Windows Defender being changed, that is probably where the issue is, a mistake in the change.
Hi,
I think the problem is that the process is connecting to the internet for some reason...
The warning screen you posted specifically mentions this, so I'm thinking that it must be connecting everytime you restart...
There may be an issue with Windows Defender misidentifying it... Windows Defender has upgraded features in the new update that may be misidentifying it...
The icon on the taskbar is just a shortcut to open a file... you could probably get all the same option settings by opening the process from elsewhere... A shortcut in the Program Files possibly... It may not actually need to start with windows to function.
You might also consider posting a question in the Win 10 Forums concerning that... It may get someone's attention and get the issue checked out more thoroughly..
SORRY, I GUESS THIS DIDN'T GET POSTED - here it is now. This post is a critical one for this immediate issue.
OK, I found a wrong way to stop it from opening. That leaves something still working wrong, and I would like to get that fixed. And, it is now clear it is something int he upgrade that broke this -- it was fine before the upgrade. However ...
I googled, first item in the list was about that file and antivirus. It looked difficult to read, but that alone triggered an idea -- because of course, that window is afraid of malware, so Windows Defender should be considered.
I went to Windows Defender and looked around. I didn't see anything -- except, I found a place in there, in Windows Defender Settings, to EXCLUDE a file from being scanned. So, I put this file name in the list -- it is the only one listed -- to not be scanned.
I restarted, and that window did not open, and the trackpad works fine anyway.
So, that stops it from opening, But I guess Windows Defender now has a problem that it is misidentifying that application as just downloaded, and will not hold it when I uncheck that box in my picture, so keeps throwing up that window. ''That is the thing I downloaded last February after you sent me to Synaptics. So we know that application is fine, I personally got ti from Synaptics, and it has been fine all along.
One thing, when I put the file in the Exclusions list, automatically any other files associated with it also will not be scanned, whether that is what I want or not. This does make for the longshot possibility that some malware will come in and "associate" itself with that particular application -- and if so, Windows Defender will never find it. Regardless, I prefer things to be fixed than to use a work around. There is still something wrong that Windows Defender is misidentifying that application.
