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..
So, a partition can only be expanded into space from an adjoining partition. OK. Maybe do it twice? Is it only touching the empty space, won't touch part of the disk used? Its only #4 that would be used twice.
Not that it matters to this, but why do you think messing at all with #2 might make the disk not bootable? Yes, in looking, that is the EFI System partition. But empty space is empty space, unless its needs at least that much empty space to work properly. Maybe that is the minimum space it needs. Besides, that one is original size, the only one. In fact, what I am wanting to move from #5 is the very amount of EXTRA space on that partition than on the original internal drive.
But again, what do you think of moving the space twice? I would leave #5 at 16 GB, move the 17.6 GB of empty space to #4. Then I would move 17.6 GB of empty space from #4 to #3. Is there a reason that would not work? Might that create some problem>
These numbers got off because the migration provided for reducing partition sizes to fit what was on them. But as you can see from the numbers, some were not reduced, they were expanded, and so not enough space was left on the #3 drive. I migrated twice, and same both times. I'm basically just trying to make it what Partition Wizard said it would make it but did not.
Hi,
I'm sure Partition Wizard can resize and expand the partitions, but it won't do you any good because of where they are located...
The only thing that would do any good would be to make partition #2 or #4 smaller and expand partition #3... But expanding #3 into #2 would probably cause boot issues...
It might be fixable, but you won't gain anything by doing it...
Expanding #3 into #4 isn't enough to make any difference, and you can't expand #3 into #5 because you can't skip over a partition...
The only thing that you could do that would get enough space would be to delete #4, resize #5 (or delete it), and then expand #3...
Well, what I'm thinking is shrinking one partition by as much as 17.6 GB. If I could add it to the partition where I need this space, that should be more than enough.
Do you know any way I can do that -- change the sizes of the partitions to move space from one to another: condense one, expand the other. I saw a tool to decrease the size of a partition, but not one to increase. Nor did I see what happened with the space taken out of the one partition.
Some numbers to follow to match the partitions on internal and external drives:
PARTITION 1:
Internal: 400 MB
External: 637 MB
PARTITION 2:
Internal: 300 MB
External: 300 MB
PARTITION 3:
Internal: 448.75 GB
External: 262.58 GB
PARTITION 4:
Internal: 450 MB
External: 886 MB
PARTITION 5:
Internal: 15.76 GB
External: 33.60 GB
Clearly, Partition 3 is the main drive. Partition 5 is the Recovery partition. But the internal Recovery partitions-- the original -- is 15.76 GB, compared to the migrated file one of 33.60 GB. That more than 17.6 GB, well more than I need, leaving that partition at 16 GB, still more than on the original. I want to move that 17.6 GB to the 262.58GB partition, each on different drives. That's all I have to do. I see where I can reduce the size of a partition, but I can't find anyplace to increase the size of a partition nor to add space to it. And I especially don't see how to migrate that space from one drive to another, much less than from one partition to another! Nor did I see what happened to the space taken from the partition that was reduced. Hmm, maybe I should kook at Partition Wizard!
Hi,
I would think Acronis would inform you that you don't have enough space at the selected destination of the Image, but I have never encountered that...
That would be a lot of work copying a 88GB Image twice, and as you mention, there is a chance of corruption the more times you move things...
One possibility would be to delete some of the Migrated Files that are not Windows related... Pictures, Videos, and other stuff like that...
