This browser is no longer supported.
Upgrade to Microsoft Edge to take advantage of the latest features, security updates, and technical support.
![](data:image/svg+xml, %3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' height='64' class='font-weight-bold' style='font: 600 30.11764705882353px "SegoeUI", Arial' width='64'%3E%3Ccircle fill='hsl(128, 8%, 22%)' cx='32' cy='32' r='32' /%3E%3Ctext x='50%25' y='55%25' dominant-baseline='middle' text-anchor='middle' fill='%23FFF' %3EA%3C/text%3E%3C/svg%3E)
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,
Just a bit of a correction to what I had previously stated...
It appears that ALL MACHINES that take advantage of the free Win 10 upgrade are ACTIVATED with a Digital Entitlement...
I just checked my tablet and it is this way... It did in fact use the Win 8.1 key though...
Hi,
It doesn't actually assign a new key... Unless you purchase a Retail type of Win 10, there is no key... It either uses the one from your previous version of Win 7 Sp1 or 8\8.1, or it uses a "Digital Entitlement", which is a hardware ID from your computer...
It does use a key, but it is a generic key that basically everyone with a Digital Entitlement gets...
Microsoft has always kept a hardware ID of the machines it was installed on...
That is how they are able to detect if a key is trying to be used on more than one machine, so that is nothing new...
What is new is that they now use that to Activate some installations of Win 10...
If for example if you replace your motherboard, Win 10 will not activate as the Hardware ID would change....
Whatever the method, it is not stored in the BIOS... It is on Microsoft's Activation servers and\or in a file on your HDD...
Here's a link to a cool little tool to read your license and product ID... It doesn't install, it just runs... Look at the very bottom of the link for the download...
http://winaero.com/blog/how-to-view-your-product-key-in-windows-10-windows-8-and-windows-7/
You will get another window, and the actual download link is located just above the "DONATE" button...
I did in fact only go back to the previous OS using an image, but only because completely reinstalling everything would be a pain... But if the license key was not valid, I would have gotten a notification of that very quickly...
I'm sure the installation media will work the same...
OK, thank you. I guess you did it only via Image? I will do it that way, unless for some reason it won't work (I can't test the Image in advance, as we already know). I have to think if it will do it for the Image recovery, it would do it for an erased disk and fresh install - well, probably.
I don't now if what I read used the term "consumed," it might have. But it did say Win 10 would assign a new key. Does that get put somewhere other than the bios, and thus the one in the bios remains?
Thanks again.
Hi,
I was quite concerned about this same issue when it came time for the public release of Win 10... The Microsoft reports about how it would work mentioned the term "Consume"... Which means to me that Win 10 would use the Win 7 or 8.1 key, and that the key would no longer be valid for the previous OS...
Since most of my machines had been part of the Insider Program the process worked a bit different for them...
However, I had a HP laptop that had never been part of the Insider Program, that came with installation media for both Win 7 Pro SP1 and Win 8 Pro... The Win 7 Pro was preinstalled...
I didn't want to risk losing my Win 7 license, so I installed the Win 8 Pro... upgraded to 8.1, and then to Win 10.... If I check the license that Win 10 is using on the laptop, it is in fact the Win 8 license...
I have since purchased a cheapo 8" Tablet with Win 8.1 preinstalled... I upgraded to Win 10, and later put Win 8.1 back in using a image I had made before I started...
In both the laptop and Tablet, I was able to go back to the previous OS without issues, and they both properly activated...
My machines that were part of the Insider Program are a bit different... They are Activated with what Microsoft calls a "Digital Entitlement"... There is not an actual license involved...
In this case, the original license is used to validate that you have a legitimate Windows installation before the upgrade begins, but once the upgrade is complete and has been activated, things work a bit different...
Microsoft then uses a Product or Hardware ID from the actual machine that is stored on it's registration servers instead of a typical license...
In the past, upgrades had there own key, and you could easily return to the previous OS... That changed a little with the free Win 8.1 upgrade for Win 8 users... It uses the Win 8 key... Win 10 takes that a bit farther...
Anyway... to make a long story short... Don't worry about it... Microsoft used a poor choice of words when it used the term "Consumed"... In reality, nothing is much different with the Win 10 upgrade than any of the previous ones... Other than it's free. There are no issues with going back to the previous OS..
The process is a bit different, but the end result is the same...
There is no way Win 10 could damage the license key stored in the machine's BIOS...
It could possibly refuse to use it, but not alter it.
Over a period of time, Microsoft has actually changed the rules as to how things work. For the most part they have become more lenient.. They have been trying to make it easier for people to upgrade to Win 10, and changing some of the processes involved to accomplish that...
