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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 hope you had a nice Thanksgiving.
Meanwhile, I let that Windows 8.1 install media download all day yesterday and all night. It finally finished an hour or so before dawn. That is the ISO to be burnable, and it is Win 8.1, not 8.0. I got the 64 bit version since that is what my machine is.
BTW, it even notes at the end to have my key ready when I install it. I would use the key I lifted from my Windows 8.0 install. You know, most people would not have any idea they can get their key like that, so would not be able to do this!
I have now burned it via a data burn to DVD. It is one DVD disk. The Web pages indicates that to use it, I would boot from the DVD. Inf act, in trying to access the files straight from the DVD without booting, I can't, it won't let me open the ISO on it, says:
"Virtual hard disk filed can't be mounted from image files, or from removable media that isn't formatted with NTFS file system."
So, I can't runt he setup.exe file from the DVD without booting -- I can't even access it without booting.
I then tried to boot from it, but I can't boot. F12 Boot Manager lists only Windows Boot Manager as a bootable disk choice, not even the hard drive. Huh? (I wish I could access Windows Boot Manager and set things in that as I want them.)
So I changed from UEFI boot mode (which it must use, as it is for Win 8.1) to Legacy, but it still won't boot.
Damn. OK, so you said something about a certain way to burn so it will be bootable? Can you tell me how. (I don't know why this didn't work, as I've burned Windows install media in the past and it booted fine. But I guess I burned it from my Mac.)
My Windows burning software is a bit limited. I have Nero Express -- the only thing in there to burn this is a data burn. I also have/had NCH Burn Express. But I had NCH as trial and although I've had it for several months now, it decided to expire the trial after I used it for the first burn today (and now I can't even find it to uninstall, its not in the uninstaller list but is still on the machine -- damn Windows), so I can't use it to burn again. Dang! But as trial, the only way I had to burn this was a data burn. But once purchased, they offer the added ability to do what they call an "ISO burn" -- and maybe that is what I need, not sure what that is. My Nero Express doesn't even list that.
So, double question: How do I burn this to be bootable? And, do you know any good FREE burning software I can get? (Yet another irritating thing about Windows, no burning software included. Mac OS has burning software built in, although many people like to get third party title as better organized.)
Thanks again.
Hi,
One reason it is available on DVD is that there are still a lot of machines that don't use UEFI Bios... The DVD will boot... It may require Legacy mode...
It may boot but refuse to install on a GPT drive...
You would never believe all of the hoops some people on the forum have had to jump through to get a installation to work... Countless combinations.
If you run the Recovery Drive with Win 10 on your machine, Win 10 will be gone...
In a worst case scenario you could always delete the Win 10 and use the Recovery Drive to a Blank Drive...
The only options I had were to WIPE the drive first, or just DELETE what was there...
Even if your external drive won't boot, it should determine what the Recovery Drive will put on it... MAYBE...
Your external drive has issues with more than one GPT partition... The Recovery Drive will be trying to create more than one...
I'm a bit uncomfortable running Win 10 as well.. it does too much reporting in to Microsoft... Most of the stuff can be turned off...
I have installed a 3rd party Firewall that identifies what is going on with stuff like that... The Windows Firewall only blocks INCOMING internet stuff for the most part..
3rd party Firewalls block OUTGOING stuff as well, but it can be a PAIN to constantly having to decide whether to ALLOW or BLOCK something... Once you decide what to do, you can either ALWAYS use that selection, or be ASKED everytime...
I normally select ASK until I am sure BLOCKING will not cause something to quit working... Some things I ALLOW permanently...
There are a few Windows processes I have decided t BLOCK permanently...
The good thing about the one I am using is that you can save your settings and\or return everything to default...
I saved the initial settings... ran some programs that would be challenged by the Firewall and made my selection, and then saved those settings... This is still a work in Progress...
The thing about saving the settings that is important is that if you set something wrong you can use your previous settings... You don't need to Restore Default and start all over again... Kind of like a System Restore for the Firewall Settings...
At the moment I am using Private Firewall... it is free and seems to work well...
Some of the others I have tried can drive you nuts, and some won't save settings that you can restore...
Yes, my Recovery flash drive is touted as returning my machine to factory. The only question about it is whether it can install Win 8 to a blank drive -- I will be looking into what you said about that today. And second question, whether I can run it on Win10 to convert Win 10 back to Win 8 -- actually, with that spy software in Win10, I probably don't want to do it that way anyway, they might deviously leave the spy software in there -- anyone who is going to put that kind of software in an OS is as devious and untrustworthy as it gets; that kind of software, as the basic thing to make a computer run, should be criminalized.
The download says it can be put on DVD, so I have to think it will boot as needed, or why would MS direct it to DVD.
Hi,
To use the Win 8.1 download to "Upgrade" you would run the DVD or ISO from within Win 8... That's how the upgrade works...
If you want to do a clean Install you would boot from the DVD or Flash Drive...
Whether you have to use a DVD or Flash drive is debatable... It depends on how your machine responds when you try..
That is one of the issues that is not consistent with the various versions of UEFI BIOS...
Some will install properly from a DVD, and some generate an error of a Wrong Disk Type... In other words, some machines will not install to a GPT drive when booting from a DVD... and some will..
That download can tale awhile... it may be that the servers are really busy and slowing things down as well... You can always do it later if the need should arise...
At least you know it can be done...
I still don't know if your Recovery Drive will return your machine to Out Of Box...
It might just reinstall Win 8 only... The size of the files on your Recovery Drive might at least make for a more educated guess...
