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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 understand what out of box is, and that the PC maker adds some of their own stuff. I'm not talking about that. I was saying that this recovery drive does not appear able to install the OS to a blank hard drive. I believe you indicted previously that it would. This recovery drive will only work on a drive that already has an OS on it. A major question I have is wondering if it can't be run on Win 10 without just fouling everything up and losing both Win 10 and Win 8 that way. I don't know that it will take Win 10 and turn it into Win 8. I'm not having a problem here, I'm simply seeing the limitations of this recovery drive, and those limitations mean I can't use it to get back to Win 8 after going up to Win 10.
To use it, you have to pick the OS to use it on. You can't pick an OS to use it on if there is no OS, so you can't do it to a blank drive. A blank drive is not even in the list of OSs to choose from. It has nothing to do with internal or external or SATA or IDE; its looking for OSs. I have only one OS installed, on the internal drive, so that is the only one I could pick.
Yes, this will return me to out of box -- the point is whether it will install the OS on a blank drive, and it will not, it is not designed to do that, you can buy the OS installer if you want to do that. I'm just trying to not lose what has already been purchased!
What I have done previously via Windows is to restore to a specific restore point. That is not the same as erasing everything and then from another source installing a new OS; that is simply eliminating things in the OS that came after the restore and replacing what might be needed with a version the same as the restore point -- I suppose a store point holds information about how things are, similar to imaging, so it uses that as a guide to rebuild as needed. Without that information, such as on a blank drive, it can't be done. And I'm afraid the only restore point that would be available once I go up to Win 10 would be a Win 10 restore point, which will not get me back to Win 8.
BTW, I don't have to check the flash drive, there is no Windows backup image on it, we already know that takes up 60-82 GB of space, and this requires only the space of the recovery partition! Well, of course, that size estimate is based on my current state, which includes various added applications and a few files, so OK. But nonetheless, the flash drive thing is only the size of the recovery partition. Well, I'll take a look, who knows what might be on that Recovery partition.
As an academic discussion, this Gateway version seems to simply take the recovery partition and put it on the USB flash drive. Maybe a few hundred MB are added to that to make it bootable. I think that is what Windows 8.1 is doing as well, as it is doing the full 16 GB too, the same as this. That is, its using the same recovery partition, which is nearly 16 GB because it includes all the Gateway stuff, rather than a smaller 4-6 GB for only Windows stuff. Regardless, I did it the Gateway way.
I went to that link you just gave, to download a Win 8.1 media. Not sure what it is that is downloading, but it is going at something far less than dialup speed, says it is going to take somewhere between four hours and 22 hours to download, keeps changing, at the moment it says 10 hours. I might not get that.
Nonetheless, if that will install Win 8.1, OK, then I will have that. I might then be able to run this Reset function from this recovery flash drive to make it out of box for Gateway. Maybe the two together will get me back to Win 8.1 full Gateway. OK. Nicer to successfully do that via restoring an image, so I don't have to spend weeks getting everything to put back on it again, but this is at least a guaranteed way to get back.
I have to wonder what will be required to do the install from that downloaded install media. They don't just let anyone download 8.1 for free and have it - they provide that free update only to Win 8 users -- unless they've changed that and are now giving Win 8 to anyone for free. Even Win 10 is free only to those who already have 7, 8 or 8.1 - others have to buy it, so they couldn't be giving Win 8.1 away free to anyone or no one would have to buy Win 10. So I can't see what I'm downloading for free now will just install Win 8 on any machine I want! I'm not even sure it will on this machine, unless I can provide serial or whatever else (I do have the serial for the original OS, I recovered that from the OS using Belarc Advisor). The installation media is useless without activation - and whether my original serial will activate this or not, I don't know. I would have a Gateway model-specific serial. Hmm, I imagine I could try installing it to the external drive and see what happens.
Hi,
The whole point of returning to Out Of Box, or anything similar, is to get rid of what is currently on the machine... Or replacing a failed HDD...
You are correct in a way that it is a permanent Restore Point... restoring to the AS NEW restore point... RESET is a Windows function, not Gateway...
You normally have Two options... Keep Your Files, or Keep Nothing...
Keep Your Files does not include programs that have been installed... just personal files.
I think you mentioned that you have already done this a couple of times, although by a different method.
It probably completely reinstalls Win 8... it may or may not keep your settings.
As I mentioned concerning Win 8.1 upgrade... the process has changed...
http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows-8/create-reset-refresh-media
This can be done from ANY machine running Win 7 or higher...
Regardless what the link says, it in fact creates media for Win 8.1 and\or provides a downloadable ISO that can be run from within Win 8... You don't need to do a bunch of updates first. You can go directly to 8.1... It is 2.5 to 3.5GB depending on Home or Pro.. It WILL NOT reinstall anything provided by Gateway...
You are confusing Microsoft's process for creating a Flash drive, and the process provided by manufacturers... You may be actually running into that problem now...
I am specifically talking about the process to return to "Out Of Box" ...
This is NOT a Microsoft process... This is a process provided by the manufacturer...
I know when you use a MAC the manufacturer and the writer of the operating system is the same... APPLE... This is not the case with Windows and Gateway, or ACER, HP, or whatever...
Microsoft has their features, and the manufacturers have their's... they are not the same..
It is the process provided by the computer manufacturer that is lost... For most people it WILL NOT Function after upgrading to Win 8.1... The needed program\files are either lost or not compatible with the upgrade...
The fact that Microsoft offers a similar process is irrevelent... The end result is different...
The only way to know what will happen would be to unhook your internal drive, hook up the external and see what happens... I would think even the Microsoft process would work with a blank drive... It's pretty useless if it won't...
If there is not a HDD with Windows on it, you may get different options in the menu..
BTW... What were the OS options that were available ?
Part of the problem is that your external HDD is not functioning with GPT... Either the drive itself, or the adapter, does not know how to properly handle GPT Partitions...
It has nothing to do with Acronis... it is a hardware problem.
If this flash drive is not going to do what you need it to do, you might contact Gateway about purchasing the DVDs needed to return the machine to "Out Of Box"
I have seen prices for that kind of stuff anywhere from $15 to $60... I don't have a clue as to Gateway's price...
One of the very first things manufactures advise that a person does with a new computer is to create the media to return it to "Out Of Box" before anything has a chance to fail or get corrupted...
Unfortunately a lot of people don't... They either don't notice the advisory, or don't understand the importance... Until it is too late...
Basically you are dealing with three different operating systems... This may require three different sets\types of backup...
Acronis should cover most of it. Unfortunately you have no way to test it...
Acronis can't restore the machine to Out Of Box, because it doesn't have an image...
I just realized something I missed in your reply... You mentioned seeing a place to Choose a Restore Point or "Recover An Image File"... You could actually create an Image File, and use it instead of Acronis, or one of each just in case..
Just out of curiosity... browse through the Flash Drive you created and see if there is a "WindowsImageBackup" file...
You must have sent this as I was editing and changing my post, above.
It does not appear possible to use this to "make a replacement HDD 'Out Of Box'..." The selections require it to choose an OS to do anything with. I'm not even sure you can choose an OS that is not internal, as it refers to these things to be done to "Your PC." Nonetheless, it can be done only to an OS, not to a HDD Out of Box, meaning a blank HDD. So, I can't even test it on the external HDD, as that does not have an OS on it. And I would be very wary of using it on a different OS level, such as Win 10 or Win 7.
Yes, I updated to Win 8.1. It does not give the option to download and ISO for that, it simply installs from the Internet direct -- so you have no file to do it again, and you can only do it to the Win 8.1 OS you used to boot. A HUGE download!
As for people no longer being able to do this to a USB Flash drive, Win 8.1 itself instructs to do it to a USB flash drive, so you don't lose that with 8.1. If people had trouble, it was not because Win 8.1 no longer offers that ability.
I don't really think the UEFI bios have anything to do with blocking the external drives from booting. As I did, you can make the external drives GPT and the OS partitions include the UEFI -- so with that, they have the UEFI and are ready for the UEFI bios. It will boot from a HDD and it will boot from USB, so it makes no sense that it would not boot from a USB HDD. Yes, maybe that USB HDD needs to be SATA, maybe. The issues I had were not in booting a USB HDD, we never got that far. My issue was in using Acronis and dealing with the first and second partition -- dealing with the second partition seemed to be a problem.
BTW, my UEFI bios do not come with settings, you simply select "UEFI," and that is the end of it.
Hi,
Yes... if your machine came with Win 8, that is what you will get with the Flash Drive...
Fortunately, upgrading to Win 8.1 is easier now...
You don't need all of the pre-requisite updates... Just download the Win 8.1 ISO and run it from within Win 8.0...
You are actually quite lucky that you can still create the Flash Drive with gateway's process... There have been an awful lot of people that have lost that ability after upgrading to 8.1..
I'm thinking the process now requires a Flash Drive due to the issues with the UEFI Bios..
I would guess that there is more to the process than just copying the partition to the flash drive... Somewhere along the line, something needs to be bootable...
Otherwise the Flash Drive wouldn't be able to make a replacement HDD "Out Of Box"...
The booting\launching part of the process may be included with your UEFI Bios...
You MIGHT be able to test it to your external drive, but you may run into the same problems as previously...
BTW... Newegg has a 2TB HDD on special for $60...
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148834&ignorebbr=1
