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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..
OK, I just re-GPT'd (initialized to GPT), and created the two partitions. Doing the GPT made a first partition of small MB size. I made the 125 GB partition -- it would not let me assign a drive (partition) letter, That space was blank, and in the dropdown menu for it, the only choice was "none." It would not let me type a letter into the blank space. I had not tried to type one in previously, so I didn't know it would not let you.
I made it Primary, NTFS. It last asked "Partition Align to" and gave me the default choice of "cylinder" or another option of "MB." I have no idea what either of those are, so I just left it as the default choice.
I then Applied and made the partitions.
I note, the window has a hyperlink at the bottom for "Create Partition Tutorial," but the link is dead, useless.
I then made the second partition the same way -- and I have all the same comments about it. Except, that time it did not give me the choice of "Partition Align To." That just was not in the window. I also could not actually set Primary, it was just listed in there but grayed out. In Partition Wizard, with it all done, the little GPT box under Type for the second, larger partition is color coded for primary, so I guess it did make it as primary, not logical. All partitions on the internal and external drive are color coded for Primary.
I then hit Apply, and it was done.
Now, in Acronis, same problem again, no difference.
Acronis has different letters assigned to the partitions this time.
However, this time I tested to see if I could advance in Acronis if I instead chose the 125 GB drive that is prepared for taking the recovery. I clicking that one, it put the drive letter in the space, and I added a name. It advanced!
Whoa. Originally, the first time Idid it a couple days ago, I made the full disk a partition, then I made the 125 GB partition. I guess that 125 GB one was the second partition on the drive I made. You had me switch to make the 125 GB one the first partition I made, and that is what I did now. This was in response to trying to get it to take a partition recovery.
So, what we have is that originally, the bigger partition was the first one made, and the 125 GB second. And Acronis would let me do the Image to the bigger partition, the first partition. This time we have the smaller 125 GB partition as the first one, and Acronis will not let me do the image to the second, larger partition, but it will to the first partition, the 125 GB one.
Is this the issue -- Acronis will allow the image to go only to a first data partition (the small MB partition GPTing it made is not a data partition)? If so, then why does Acronis even ask you to choose if it won't allow a choice!? This is assinine.
But also note what I said about when I made the second partition, the choice for Primary was chosen and grayed out, and the "Partition Align to" line was not there. Why did it not let me deal with those two things like with the 125 GB partition? Is it because I already had a Primary partition on the external HDD? Regardless, those are out of my reach.
I ALSO NOTE, I then tried Imaging all but the 15 GB Recovery partition. But that made no difference, same issue.
So, maybe I have to switch back, make the entire drive a partition and then make the 125 GB partition? But we switched to try to allow it to do the full-partition recovery, so we would be back to that problem. We're damned if we do, and we're damned if we don't. This is a damned Catch 22.
Hi,
The issue is not with Acronis, and is not related to which Partition is created first...
I'm thinking that the problem may be related to your IDE drive itself...
It may not like the GPT Disk type.. GPT Disks did not exist in the days of IDE drives.
I just duplicated what you are trying to do with both Partition Wizard 9.1 and Acronis TrueImage 2016... I just happened to have a brand new 2TB HDD to play with...
I had no issues, and Acronis saved an image to both the large and small partition...
One thing I did notice... I did not get any option for "Partition Align To"...
I also did not have a option for Primary or Drive Letter, but both partitions worked...
I also noticed that a small 128MB partition WAS NOT created...
I have two other HDDs that are GPT and were formatted with Windows...
They DO have a small 128MB partition at the beginning of the drive...
I am not sure why you are seeing something different....
I can only suggest that you try again.. This time switch the drive back to MBR, and back to GPT... You seem to be getting different results this time than previously for some reason...
Thanks. I'm afraid we're running into a dead end. I might be able to make an Image, but I won't be able to test it to be sure it is good, so might lose Win 8.1 in the process. But I will continue until the end on this. I will go do it all over again later this morning.
Let me ask, what do you think of this as a last resort when we get to it: An image, like before. A files recovery like before. And a USB flash drive used for a bootable recovery (or restore) drive made via Win 8.1 OS.
I recover the image via files recovery, but it isn't bootable. I use the flash drive to make it bootable - would that work, would that Recovery-Restore drive make it bootable?
I am not satisfied with going to Win 10, so want to be able to get back to 8.1 after I go to Win10 -- especially since 10 is spying on everything on your computer, and I surely can't trust anyone who would do that when they say you can simply turn it off. Gee, even if I trusted them, I'm sure a third party could turn it right back on and direct the info to them. That **** should not only not be in the OS, it should be made a criminal offense to put it in.
You might have made the GPT disk on your's differently than I did. Last night, I found "Initialize to GPT." I did it that way last night, that actually seems like the best way. But the previous time, I did it by Convert to MBR and then I converted back to GPT. I'll bet you did it that way. Initializing to GPT sounds more definitive than converting. The first time, I did it with Win8.1 Disk Manager.
I'm not sure I got that first partition made by the GPTing when I did it via Convert. I don't think I did. Last night I was thinking that having done it the previous time via Convert might be why I had that trouble in Acronis with the Partition recovery.
For what its worth, I get a choice of True Image x86 or True Image 64 bit when booting the Acronis disk. I have been choosing the latter.
I wonder why I got those options and you didn't. Odd. But like I said, I did not get all those options for the second partition, which I also find odd. And you don't even get the option to make it other than Primary -- I do for the first partition at least. I get more than you get, you are stuck with Primary whether you want that or not -- that doesn't sound right. You had even told me early on to select Primary, but you have no option.
As for the Partition Align To, I don't know that I had that the previous time. But I had it this time only on the 125 GB partition, the first data partition, not the one I'm imaging to -- and the one I'm imaging to was the problem last night. Do you know what Partition Align To should be set for? I could at least make the proper setting for that.
Yes, GPT (or other) and IDE -- who knows. I suppose if we read a book, it might say GPT won't work with IDE -- a whole book just to find that one sentence. I have no idea why that would make a difference, but my lack of knowledge means nothing. I was wondering myself, actually, just because it is one difference in the equation.
Hi,
You're idea about using a windows repair disk\flash to make a Acronis Image bootable won't work... If you want to use a windows process, just use Win 8.1 to make the image... It is not as versatile, but may save your bacon in a pinch...
I'm not sure why you have the "FILES Recovery" stuff stuck in your head, but forget it..
Unless you want to recover pictures or something, it is worthless...
I'm not sure which GPT\MBR things were done with Windows and which were done with Partition Wizard...
The fact you had a 128MB partition with Partition Wizard tells me that there must have been residual stuff on the drive from when it was converted with Disk Management...
I would delete everything on the drive... convert\switch (Initialize)it back to MBR, and then switch it back (Initialize) to GPT...
Then do the two partitions again...
The whole point of using Partition Wizard is to get that 128MB partition off of the beginning of the HDD...
It may not be a IDE issue... Just things getting out of whack switching back and forth between Windows and Partition Wizard initializing\formatting...
