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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,
I will need to fire up my laptop to check on the touchpad issue... It is a HP, but has a Synaptics Touchpad... I have had issues with it when it was new.. It was even replaced under warranty... It is working good now... it seems even better with Win 10 than Win 7 or 8...
At one time I thought I had the licensing for Win 10 figured out, but it seems to be different now... Your laptop should actually be using the Win 8 key that was in your BIOS for Win 10... That is the way it worked on my Laptop...
For the people that had been participating in the Insider Program, they were given a generic key that everyone gets... Everyone else that does the free upgrade uses their original Win 7 or 8 key...
That may be different if the key is embedded in the BIOS..
Once your Win 10 is activated it no longer goes by the key... It uses a Hardware ID that was created...
If you type winver into the RUN or command prompt, it will show your Windows version... As will "System Information" in Administrative Tools...
There is a file that will read your key that may give different results than Belarc...
It's called backupwindowskey and is provided by WinAero...
Belarc probably misread something...
I will check on the Touchpad in the morning...
Sorry, we must have been posting and reading at the same time again:
EDIT: Hmm. After I shot down and started up again later (now), I see now the sound volume icon IS on the Task Bar. Don't know why it wasn't there earlier.
Why it wants showing when I wrote, I don't know, but it shows now.
I checked that Notifications thing. I saw it offering a Synaptics trackpad click, which I tired. I got a menu that only wanted to talk about the mouse. I raise this issue because the trackpad on this machine has never been any good, either just doesn't work at all or only sporadically. In that trackpad-mouse thing, there was a pressure tester -- but it didn't seem to work.
OK, that background. Do you know anything I might to do make the trackpad work? That's a long shot, In now-- it probably will never work without some kind of hardware replaced.
SECONDLY: I found something interesting in digging into the system with an application called Belarc Advisor. That will pull all the info from deep in the system, including serial and keys of everything, just what all the hardware is in there, etc. I had read that installing Win 10 would change the key, so I wanted to see what it now said.
Well, yes, it does now get a different key. So I now have the key for this system. I don't know if that is in the OS or now down in the bios or some other place in the root. If I were to erase and reinstall, I guess I should use this key -- although few people will have the new key.
But what was interesting is that it still identifies the OS as Win 8.1, not as Win 10! When I upgrade form Win 8 to Win 8.1, Belarc Advisor identified the OS as Win 8.1. Now, I upgrade form Win 8.1 to Win 10 and it identifies the OS as Win 8.1! It says it was installed yesterday so I know it is talking about my new Win 10.
I suppose that is just academic, but it is interesting.
Hmm. I wonder if that will create any issues some day with, say, maybe installing something that requires Win 10, and it checks the system first but sees it is Win 8.1! Or something else like that.
Hi,
You can control what appears there by right clicking the Taskbar... then Properties...
Then click... Notification Area: Customize...
On the new window that opens, "Select Which Icons Appear On The Taskbar"... On the upper center of the screen..
It used to be much easier with the Customize icon right in the Taskbar...
For the Create Media I think the only options are Language, 32\64 (or both)...
And possibly Single Language, or N...(for Europe)
Lately Microsoft has been combining the Home and Pro in the same ISO, since for the most part they are the same.. There are just a few more files for the Pro...
It seems the installer determines which to install by what is there, or by the key that is used...
If its not one thing, its another. I now find there is no icon on my Task Bar for audio/Sound volume. I need that. I can't find any way to add one. No setting in Audio and Sound Control panel to add that that I find.
Do you know how to add that?
EDIT: Hmm. After I shot down and started up again later (now), I see now the sound volume icon IS on the Task Bar. Don't know why it wasn't there earlier.
Re Create Media link, I did check"Download for a Different Machine," because it seemed the only way to download the ISO rather than do the install via the Internet. The only other option to check was something like Start Install.
It did not offer me a selection of which version.
