Can't Boot From Bootable CD -- Bios Set Correctly

Anonymous
2015-11-02T05:57:29+00:00

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?

Windows for home | Previous Windows versions | Performance and system failures

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.

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Anonymous
2016-08-24T15:35:47+00:00

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..

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  1. Anonymous
    2016-01-31T23:01:24+00:00

    Well, the iso that was downloaded to my desktop is 3.28 GB. But I don't think that is the final answer.

    When you boot to do the install, and you finally get to the actual window to start the install, does your's say Windows 10, or a different level? Mine says Windows 8. Yuo might have been downloading for Windows 7, so maybe your's says Windows 7.

    The difference in size could be that maybe they have added something into it since you got it, some update or other.

    But mine was from using "GetWindows10-sds_____________.exe" by dragging it over the top of "mediacreatiointool.exe" to open media creation tool, and from that do the download.

    I could not get a good version of media creation tool downloaded yesterday, but found the one I used for Windows 8.1. But again, I opened it with ""GetWindows10-sds_____________.exe"", so how could that result in downloading a Windows 8 ISO?!

    So again, if you can check, please boot your disk and, after the page to select language, does the install page say Windows 10 on it or something else.

    If I have to download again, it will not be getting done soon, not today and maybe not even this week.

    If the determinator of what OS you are going to get is media creation tool, not GetWindows10-sds_____________.exe, then what in **** is the purpose of getting GetWindows10-sds_____________.exe and using it to open media creation tool?! Damn Microsoft! And if mediacretiontool is the determinator, then why in **** do they name different media creation tools by the exact same name -- if they are different, they must have a different name - indicate which OS in the name. Damn Microsoft.

    The directions they give online for getting Win 10 say you have to identify which version to get before starting the download, and they give a chart with all the OSs and nothing which version of Win 10 you will get. When I had to designate, the list only had various Win 8 and 8.1 in it, so I figured I was identifying by which OS I was updating.  So it made sense to indicate I was getting it to upgrade from Win 8.1 when I starting that big download! Now it looks like instead that selection was what OS to download, even though it was opened with the file telling it what OS. In that case, it didn't even allow me to get Win 10!

    Hopefully that name on the install page is not meaning what OS it is but what OS it is upgrading -- which is stupid, but that would not be the first stupid communication from MS I have pointed out.

    EDIT: I just managed to download the media creation tool. In looking at properties, the one I used describes it as Windows 8.1 assistant. The one I just downloaded describes it as Windows 10 setup. Same file name, two different things -- damn Microsoft!

    So then what is the purpose of "GetWindows10-sds_____________.exe"?!!! And the instructions said was to open media creation tool by dragging GetWindows10-sds_____________.exe over the top of it. Why, if I can't get anything but Windows 10 with it anyway?!

    Hopefully you will tell me your install page says Windows 7 or 8 on top, and that the difference in description of the tool is simply stupid Microsoft.

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  2. Anonymous
    2016-01-31T21:01:02+00:00

    Hi,

    That sure is some bad luck... I've not been doing much better trying to post a picture of the Properties of the Win 10 ISO I downloaded yesterday... the website keeps freezing when I try...  Here are the numbers though....

    Size...                 3.04GB  (3,275,489,280)

    Size On Disk...   3.04GB   (3,275,489,280)

    Is it possible that you had a Win 8.1 ISO in the folder also, and just burned the same one ?

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  3. Anonymous
    2016-01-31T19:30:02+00:00

    I can't believe it, yet another damn road block problem.

    I just test-booted from the Win 10 upgrade DVD I  burned., It boots in

    fine in Legacy.

    However, when it gets to the Install window, it identifies it as

    "Winodws 8." What?! This is supposed to be the Windows 10 upgrade DVD!

    Does your  upgrade ISO/DVD indicate a Windows version other than 10 on

     the install page? Is this indicating Windows 8 correct, insofar as it

    is  starting from Win 8 on my machine? I don't want to  install

    Windows!

    Damn them! A kindergartener would know how to communicate better than

    Microsoft! Damn them! I dare not proceed!

    I got the download from the URL you referred me to:

    http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windows10

    Even the URL  indicates its Windows 10!

    The page at that URL indicates it Get Windows 10. And it then says which OSs can get it free.

    You can choose to "Upgrade Now," or below, you can instead choose to "Download Tool Now," the media creation tool.

    I took the media creation tool, and it is through that I got the ISO.

    To open the Media Creation Tool, I drag the" GetWindows10-sds_____________.exe" file over it, and it opens.

    In the first window, I pick the language, and then the edition - all in the list are Win 8 or 8.1. I figure that was because I was doing this from a Win 8.1 machine. I chose win 8.1.

    Is that how it is supposed to be?

    Remember, yesterday I cold not get the media creation tool, it just would not download. As I told you yesterday, I found my old one from when I did Win. 8.1 upgrade. Is that the problem, the Creation tool is giving me only Win 8?!!!

    Does your Win 10 ISO boot disk say Win 8 (or 7 or whatever) or Win 10?!!

    I can't have to do this download all over again! Damn!

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  4. Anonymous
    2016-01-31T17:13:28+00:00

    OK,  what I needed to know, I can shut  down the computer  and  not lose the  ISO.

    Thee rest,  thanks, but clearly we have been putting out a lot of stuff to read. :) We went over that already. I burned the ISO last night as bootable and also  as just a data  burn so I  can drag it to the desktop later to run -- it doesn't need to boot it on the desktop.

    I did finally find Tis PC yesterday.  Thanks. Yes, on the left side.  

    Good to know I can make an ISO on the desktop from the DVD with 7Zip, which I do have. But I  would think  simply dragging and copying it would suffice for the purpose stated,  to run the installer. The booting actually will have been lost when doing that ISO burn as a data burn.  Well, maybe not lost, just not accessible for booting. Hmm,  yes, I suppose I could still do an ISO burn of that ISO after dragging it back to the  desktop, and it would be bootable.

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