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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,
You won't have to pay for activation of the Win 8.1 you are downloading because you already have a license for Win 8... and 8.1 is a free upgrade for Win 8... It's actually required after the first of the year to get new security updates..
I wish I could check what you are doing with the Flash Drive... My machines don't have what is needed to duplicate what you are doing...
The image won't be on a .IMG file or anything like that...
If it works like my Tablet, and what you describe about the options sounds the same, then you would be looking for a FOLDER on the flash drive called WindowsImageBackup
EDIT... the N version does not have Internet Explorer or Windows Media Player...
It is used mostly for Europe but can be used elsewhere...
A number of years ago the European Union had a court case against Microsoft concerning them "Forcing" people to use Internet Explorer and\or Media Player...
Removing them was part of the settlement.
It sounds like you made the correct selection..
Yes, what you say is correct - I already said all that.
But you keep missing what I am saying. The recovery drive does NOT install a new OS on a blank drive -- it bars that from being done.
I don't recall the format for the image file, but there are no .img files on the recovery drive. But I don't think that was the image format - tell me the format, and I will look, but I saw nothing that looked like it was an mage.
The restore function had to go look for an image to restore.
What I'm downloading -- still, and it still says another four hours to go -- is installation media - what you sent me to. That will need to be activated, and I'll bet that is where you have to pay, to get the activation code. They're not just giving out Windows 8 to anyone who wants it for free. And I probably won't be able to find out unless I try to install it -- guess I will try that to my external drive. But yes, as I said, MAYBE my Gateway Win 8 serial will activate it even without Win 8 already on my machine. I got the key -- and a lot of other stuff -- by using Belarc Advisor to pull it out.
BTW, I had the option to download Win 8.1, Win 8.1N -- what is N? -- Win 8.1 pro, or win 8.1N Pro. I didn't take pro, because the OS on my computer is listed simply as Win 8.1. I'm downloading the ISO and will burn it.
At any rate, as I said,once use that to install 8.1, I and thinking I could use the recovery flash drive to then reset it to Gateway factory. the two together should allow me to reinstall a fresh Win 8.1 on this machine and then change it to Gateway factory out of box -- I'm presuming the recovery drive would do that.
No, that is not why I'm getting an option to select an OS. It provides only for using an OS -- there is no option, OS or nothing. That's the point. It has a standard headline that this is where to select the OS to do it to, and then it has a list. Since I have only one OS on the computer, it lists only the one. It does not list the blank external drive, because it says to pick the OS.
Hi,
Just to clarify what I was trying to say... It is entirely possible that Gateway is now using a Windows feature to Restore your machine to Out Of Box...
After all... all you need is an image... Everything that would be on the Gateway partition would be highly compressed... For instance... Microsoft now downloads windows installations through windows update as a .ESD file...
This makes a Win 8.1 or Win 10 Image about 2.6GB instead of the nearly 4GB that it would normally be... It then gets decompressed before it is installed...
Kind of like a .ZIP file, but the compression is higher...
Most manufactures can restore a entire HDD with a 10GB image...
My HP Laptop has everything on two DVDs... about 9GB...
Hi,
You are making this all way to difficult with all of your hypothetical stuff...
Yes... I said the GATEWAY Process would return you to Out Of Box...
What you have made does not appear to be GATEWAY stuff... Unless Gateway has used a WINDOWS FEATURE to do it... Which is possible...
Look on the Flash Drive for an IMAGE as I asked... Forget about everything you think you know about images... you don't know what you think you do...
There may in fact be an image on the flash drive to select with the "Restore From An Image" option you saw... That is what I am trying to get you to find out..
That 60GB Image size is with ALL OF YOUR PERSONAL FILES and ETC...
It is not just Windows and Gateway...
Windows may be 5GB and another 5GB for Gateway... that would certainly fit on a 16-32GB Flash Drive... Why do you think the 15GB partition on your machine is only 15GB, if as you say, it needs to be 60GB...
You are getting options to choose an OS because the flash drive is detecting one... How else do you suppose it can ask which one ? You may get other options if the internal drive is not hooked up. You don't know if you don't check...
That Win 8.1 media is for Win 8 users to upgrade to Win 8.1 for free if run from within Win 8... It can also be used to install Win 8.1 directly without installing Win 8 first...
For you that is not the best way because you would lose all of your preinstalled gateway stuff...
Not everyone can use it... it requires a key... because it is a free upgrade to Win 8, it will use a Win 8 key if done properly... It will most likely install directly to your Gateway since the Win 8 key is stored in the BIOS... Win 8 and 8.1, as well as 10, look for it...
I'm not sure what you are downloading either... it depends on what you selected...
One thing is for sure... it is downloading the Installation Media for Win 8.1...
Whether you create a flash drive, DVD, or just save it as a ISO, it needs to download the installation media... If you were to burn it to a DVD, you would have the exact same DVD as if you purchased Win 8.1 in a store...
I would very strongly advise that you save a ISO of the download regardless of whatever else you make... You can make a DVD or flash drive later if you have the ISO...
It is reuseable and you will never need another one... It was made available for several reasons, but one of them is so that people don't need to repeatedly download Win 8.1 through Windows Update everytime they need to repair their machine...
