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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,
That TechBench website is a legitimate Microsoft Website...
The difference is that the images are for Technicians to use for Repair and Reinstallation, as opposed to the General Public for Upgrades...
Thank you for stricking int here.
Today I'm going to restore my system. That should fix the issue with Updates. It became obvious that MS is using Windows Update to do the download of the ESD via that application and apparently also to even simply download the media creation tool. Another stupid thing for MS to do -- they should just allow a straight download rather than l bog it down with going through Windows Update -- no end to MS stupidity.
ONce donee, I will try to media creation tool download one last time, and see if it work.
If it works, maybe at some point I will try the download again -- but not necessarily anytime soon. If it doesn't work, I quit.
Thanks for the other site, but if I get it from there, it will only raise questions every time I have an OS issue going forward, as to whether that site left out or changed anything in the OS -- probably not, since you recommend it, but the question will have to arise. The only way to prevent those questions is to get it from MS. There are far too many questions already, I don't need to add more that should be avoidable.
I'll update you after I do the restore later and test the 17.6 MB download. But that doesn't mean I will proceed with the big download any time soon. Gee, could also get the ISO direct from MS if they would not presume they know better what I want than I do and so refuse to let a Windows OS download the ISO direct, but force a Mac to do so.
Hi,
That last link for the TechBench website doesn't use a tool... It just downloads...
So you should be able to bypass one of the roadblocks in the future...
I also have been doing a lot of downloading lately... For multiple reasons...
I have unlimited access, but people overusing "Unlimited" is how it ends up becoming "Limited"...
I have had similar experiences as you are having in the past... One was with a new computer that kept refusing to boot after a week or two... It would then require reinstalling XP and then doing the update to SP2 and SP3...
This took about a week due to very slow internet speeds that were available.. About the time it was working good, it would happen again... This is where I started learning about Imaging.. Turned out the problem was due to overheating, and possibly a motherboard issue...
Another issue was with Vista on one of my machines... It worked, but would randomly lock up and freeze, then require a forced shutdown... I never did figure out the problem, but had to quit running Vista...
Later Win 7 was released and I tried it... believe it or not... same problem...
Somewhere around the time Win 7 SP1 was released I tried Win 7 again, and after catching up on updates I eventually realized that the crashes had stopped...
It turned out that there was a obscure chip driver that had been updated by Windows Updates that fixed the problem... It only took about 4 years...
Key point is I can't run the MS ISO tool, so I can't get Windows 10. I am not starting a new thing to figure out another way to get it -- after 5,000 f-ing issues for 8 months, and miles and miles and miles of forums and articles and other, everyone of them an assinine BS stupidity of MS, I give up. I thought it was going to be over this morning and I would be up to Win10. But instead, I'm merely starting yet another chapter that is only going to lead to another chapter and then to another. I give up. I have thought 500 times for 8 months that I would be done that day -- it just isn't so. I should have quit 7 1/2 months ago. I am not close to the end now. It will be several more months -- I have already been through this way too many times. MS is sh--. I don't even want Win 10 anyway. And if I'm lucky, my machine will just break down before I have to have Win 10!
MS is not any good at putting together operating systems or giving a damn about its customers, it is only good at creating monopolies so it can force sh-- on you.
Still, tomorrow I will restore my machine to an earlier point to solve those issues, because I will have to do that even without going up to WIn 10. If the tool works then, then maybe in a few months I might try the download again. 5-8 hour downloads are a MAJOR burden. I can't do them over and over and over again. No more so for several months, if ever.
And think, they are imposing that BS impossible download on us so they can save 10 cents on a DVD!
F--- MS.
But you are wonderful. Thanks.
