This browser is no longer supported.
Upgrade to Microsoft Edge to take advantage of the latest features, security updates, and technical support.
![](data:image/svg+xml, %3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' height='64' class='font-weight-bold' style='font: 600 30.11764705882353px "SegoeUI", Arial' width='64'%3E%3Ccircle fill='hsl(128, 8%, 22%)' cx='32' cy='32' r='32' /%3E%3Ctext x='50%25' y='55%25' dominant-baseline='middle' text-anchor='middle' fill='%23FFF' %3EA%3C/text%3E%3C/svg%3E)
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..
Why make it larger - everything fit on the 125 GB partition. After formatting, it was something like 122 GB. And the files were something like 118 GB. 125 is better for the rest of my plan: to have a OS 8.1 image on the other space PLUS a Win 10 Image there after I go up to that. With the space I have, I can't really go over 125 GB for this partition and still have enough space for the two images. I actually had been thinking of doing it as 135 GB, but after the arithmetic, I realized that would not be a good idea.
Re Acronis, I have sent a message to ask. In going to the About window, it doe snot indicate anything to suggest it is trial. It says it is Build 5628 -- I don't know if that gives any clue to whether it is trial or not.
OK, I understand about the partitioning - I should have thought of what you explained.
Yes, at least part of this is the learning curve. Still, this should just work.
OK, will go use Partition Wizard now to erase and do it again. And the Image once again. Then - not sure, will see if Acronis wants to do it for the Partition recovery -- I doubt it.
What do you mean by: "Recovering an image should be faster than Files"? I think you mean Doing a partition recovery should be faster than doing a files recovery. After all, the files recovery IS recovering an image. :)
Re that .bat file, bottom line: Is that a problem, or not? And, just leave it - since its not SHOWING on my internal drive, at least not in that location.
Hi,
I wouldn't worry about the .bat file... you are going to delete the entire drive anyway...
I was thinking that you were going to delete the 125GB partition once you did your test anyway... If that is the case, it will be plenty big enough when it comes time for the Win 10 Image...
Trying to squeeze 118GB into 122GB is cutting it pretty close...
Is 118GB the size of the actual image, or the size of the Used Space on the original...
Or the space used by the FILES Recovery ?
I'm sure you mentioned it, but there is a lot to read to track it down...
Yes... I meant a Partition Recovery should be faster than a Files Recovery !
In the process. Am wiping the hard drive now -- I thought I did that last time,but clearly I did not. This is taking as long as a files recovery, and I chose the fast version of it. I did select it last time and clicked to do it. But I now learn, you have to then click another place that does not say to click it, and then it runs. :)
Yes, true, I will kill out this test partitions after all done e--if I have to. But I can't yet -- I will want to also test the Win 10 Image. Then I will know I have two good images on the drive I can depend on, and then I can do whatever I want with the test partition -- even keep it if it boots and use it for emergencies, rather than to do the recovery all over again before using it.
The actual files on the HDD are 98 GB for the C drive, 15 GB for that one other partition, and the rest are in MB size, I think some or all of those three under 500 MB. (Its a 500 GB internal HDD, and after formatting and whatever else, it shows around 450 GB.) So the 118 GB is the amount of the files altogether. It would be preferred for a good-operating drive to have it at least 129 GB, so 10% empty -- which would be a partition of about 135GB -- but it doesn't have to be smooth operation, just operating at all so I can know the image if fine.
The full-partition Image is about 82 GB. that leave about 92 GB empty for a Win10 Image.
Just got the delivery of what I needed to get on that other project. :)
Hi,
If it again refuses to Recover to the 125GB partition, try unchecking the 15GB one...
You're initial Win 10 image will be WAY bigger than the Win 8.1...
This is due to a Windows.old folder that is created when you do the upgrade...
In case you want to Roll Back to Win 8.1... Plus some others...
All of the saved files from the upgrade could be over 20GB...
You could delete them with Disk Cleanup_System Files, but then you would not be able to Roll Back...
You could always use your image though...
