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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..
I'm getting lost in this stuff.
For one, why would I need a tool called RUFUS and an ISO image of Win 8.1? I can change formats without some tool called RUFUS. And why would I need a Win 8.1 ISO -- I'm doing the disk image already, why would need a second ISO image with 8.1 on it?
I checked my flash drive, it is already FAT32. I figure I can leave it as is. FAT32 should be FAT32 no matter what issued to make it, I would think. After the format and some files SanDisk (its a San Disk brand) has on it, it have about 29 GB of space. That probably won't be enough for the HDD image, but it will be more than enough for the 16 GB Win 7.1 indicates I need to make a recovery disk. Whether it will boot remains to be seen.
Also, why are you talking about a flash drive of 4 or 8 GB when the image to go on it should be tens of GB more than that? We are starting with over 100 GB of files, and maybe it will compress to half that, but that's not even close to 8 GB. (Windows Help had indicated that 4 GB would probably be enough for most Restore disks, when when I started one, it said I needed 16 GB -- so much for the Help menu. And I figure 16 GB of space, so it would not fit on a 16 GB flash drive, because there is always less than that to at least the formatting. I'd rather lose my 16 GB flash drive to this than the 32 GB drive.)
I still don't know how the flash drive or other should be made UEFI rather than Legacy. Isn't that something that happens automatically as part of the imaging?
I was hoping to get to this today, but I got bogged down all morning, and now it is looking more like tomorrow for this.
At this pint, I think I just have to go at it straight forward, and maybe fail. Then try another way I might think of, and fail again. Then I will have more specific questions that I will be abel to follow and hopefully understand. And with all that trial and error, I want to get on this early in the day -- because I'm afraid it is going to take some number of multiple days and trials.
I still don't even know how to erase that one efi partition on the hard drive, it just wont' erase, even though the other partitions did!
Hi,
You asked about the UEFI Flash Drive to install or Repair Windows... You most likely need RUFUS to make one... If your Win 8.1 media will boot now, then you probably don't need it...
I am talking about an image of Windows Installation Media... not a image of your system...
The flash drive isn't made UEFI... it is made to boot into a UEFI machine...
The normal process won't work for most UEFI machines...
The problem with using FAT32 is that it is an older format and will not allow any file to be over 4GB...
You will probably need a 3rd party Disk management tool to delete your EFI partition...
Those are pretty well protected by Windows...
I think I mentioned Partition Wizard 9 bootable... it's free..
http://www.partitionwizard.com/partition-wizard-bootable-cd.html
I have no Windows install media -- well, except my old Win 7 install disk bootable on CD, and earlier OSs. I have no Windows bootable media otherwise, nothing that we're talking about now (well, except the Acronis CD, which yes, was burned from the ISO -- anything needed for booting was on the ISO, I did nothing special for the burn). This HDD image would be it. For now, I simply need to know what I need to do this image, and that it be bootable -- its supposed to be bootable, right? And bootable whether I do it to external HDD or USB flash drive. I would hope Acronis would do that automatically, anything else seems ****
The HDD image is supposed to be bootable, right? And if Windows instructions and internal application to do the image doesn't automatically make it bootable, that is just unconscionable, to do only half needed and leave you in limbo. And no instructions to tell you that is not all there is to it and that you have to go track down and get third party applications to do what Windows was supposed to do.
The repair Windows thing is another thing Windows 8.1 provides for you to do, a recovery disk as opposed to a system image -- not sure what it uses, probably the recovery partition and maybe add some repair stuff into that, don't know. Yes, that would have to be bootable -- and I certainly hope Windows makes it so with its internal application to make the flash drive. If it needs a different format, that certainly should be part of the internal application. Same for setting file size, no less than needed. They can't expect people to be major tech engineers just to do this basic, needed stuff and know why, after following the Windows instructions, it doesn't work anyway, won't boot!
I hope to do the HDD image tomorrow. I will test to flash drive, but I think I will have to do that to the external HDD. But maybe first I will have to waste more time getting that application you just mentioned to get rid of that one partition. This is insane, all these applications to do what should be a one-step thing.
I did use a third-part application to get rid of that efi partition -- my Mac. If Macrium Reflect had an erasure thing, then I used that too. On Mac, it went away. But taking it back to Windows, there it was anyway. I guess I have to do this first, or later it will require erasing the whole drive to get rid of that partition, including the HDD image on it. I need to get rid of that partition.
I guess I don't have to put a HDD image on its own partition, can make a one-partition HDD and put it there. And later I could add a second image, for Win 10, on that drive/partition, no issue as it is contained within the image. And later, if I need to use one, I can select which I want to use?
Hi,
You probably need to reformat the entire HDD to get rid of that partition...
When we are talking about booting, we got different issues mixed together...
One issue is whether the backup image you make of your HDD will boot if and when you ever need to reload it to the HDD... That should not be a problem using Acronis...
The second issue is media to boot your machine with to repair it...
In other words, as an example, Acronis needs to be able to boot from the CD or it is useless...
The same would apply to any Recovery Media you make...
You have to be able to boot your machine and run off of it, or it is useless...
I'm sure you will find the answer to this when you create it...
Microsoft has websites when you can download the Media to Install or Repair Win 8.1 and 10... You can download the Media as a ISO image, burn a DVD, or Create a Flash Drive... This is the area where I was talking about the Microsoft tools not working with UEFI BIOS...
The method they use to create a bootable Windows Installation Flash Drive usually does not work on UEFI Machines... Stupid, but true...
Most UEFI Machines won't install from a Win 8.1 or 10 DVD either...
The new tool for Win 10 may work for some people, but it would not create bootable Win 10 Installation Media for my new Tablet... It works fine on my older machines that don't have UEFI, or that is turned off...
I had to use a downloaded Win 8.1 ISO from Microsoft's website and the RUFUS tool to get it to work...
Your Recovery Media may work better for you if you need it...
I'm not sure what will be on the Recovery media you are going to make... I have never tried it. I have been relying on Acronis to cover that type of issue...
It may have extra stuff other than Windows... maybe just your personal settings, but maybe a good bit more... maybe even all of your preinstalled stuff.
If I get the chance I will see what I can find about that.
Sorry if I got you a bit confused with all the images and booting getting all mixed together...
