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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..
"C" drive on external has 99.55 GB of free space. Acronis says the image will be 83.75 GB at normal compression.
C drive on internal -- that partition is 448.75. I don't know how much is used, I have too many notes scribbled all over the place at this point, can't follow any of them anymore. Seems to me the Win 8.1 was around 98 GB -- this Win 10 can't be much more. I saw some number somewhere about 140 GB, might have been the files on the C drive but seems high for that considering the 8.1 size -- not sure what that was. Nonetheless, the real point is the size of the file to go on the external, 83.75 GB.
I just finished trying the maximum compression in Acronis, reducing the Image size to what Acronis said would be 71.78 GB -- or about another 12 GB smaller. That leaves it 27+ GB smaller than the amount of empty space.
That still failed. It fails at the first to last partition, #4, the last one being the 15 GB recovery partition #5.
#4 goes all the way to just about the end, and then that message about not enough space comes up. I note, that went to just about the same spot it did when using the normal compression that would yield an image of 83.75 GB. I would expect it to make it into the fifth and last 15 GB partition, what with having 12 GB more space to work with.
I note, #4 was not touched in the move of space from #5 to #3. And Acronis never made it to #5. So if there is some issue with a partition, I would have to think it is #3.
So, next thing to consider, I think, is the Disk Cleanup you mention -- I can run that on the external rather than the internal, I see Win 10 allows me to do that. Before I proceed with that, let me ask, what is that getting rid of? Did I run this on the Internal when you had me clear out temporary files -- but that was for Win 8.1? Is there anything of any use lost with that? Is it all just junk? Why so much junk on the system, that seems wrong -- you're talking of 20 GB of junk just since I went up to win 10 a couple weeks ago! That's a LOT of junk -- if it really is junk.
No, I have not run that on Win 10 so far.
Hmm, just checked,and Disk Cleanup says I can eliminate 433 MB of files if I run it on the internal drive. Yes, MB, not GB. That doesn't seem worth bothering with. It gives no more for the external drive.
This all seems pointless -- I'm afraid it doesn't matter how much I kill out, since I already have far more empty space than should be needed -- despite the message, I am not short of space. But once I kill it out, it is gone for good.
I looked for something to run on the system to make sure it is all ordered and together as it should be, and tight with the files close. I have some such repair things for Mac. I could not find anything in the OS for that. Just optimization -- which I ran, but it allowed me to run it only on a smaller partition, I think the 15 GB #5 one on the external; it would not let me run it on the main partition on either drive, or any other partition. It said the 15 GB one that I did run it on was 1% fragmented; it now says 0%. There is a main partition -- can't tell which drive, the OS is using different numbers for them -- that says 16% fragmented and just optimized yesterday. I didn't optimize anything yesterday; maybe that is the partition on the internal drive? I can try optimizing that again, maybe that will solve the problem.
Anyway, I was thinking if there is some issue with the partitions on the external, that would fix them. I only ran it on the 15 GB drive, and Acronis did not even get to that one. I have applications for Mac that would repair any such issue -- if that is what it is on the external. I don't have that in Win 10.
I suppose maybe try Partition Wizard for imaging is another thing to try now. Since Disk Cleanup isn't going to give any amount of space to make any difference, this is the next step.
EDIT: Can't do an Image from Partition Wizard, it doesn't have that function. Only will clone via migrating or will copy, not image. So that's out, and leaves me at dead end. Will have to think on this.
I can try Imaging from Windows. I just checked, and I can restore from an image if I boot from the USB flash drive recovery disk -- which I now have for Win 8 but will make for Win 10. OK, so in that case, I can always recover an OS-made Image. And in that case, I also can recover and Image from the Upgrade Install disk I made too.
I need something to repair the external partitions, if they are the issue. Isn't there some software to do that, like there is for Mac?
EDIT2: Making an Image from the OS will not work. It says it will take up to 126 GB of space -- and it looks like that is for only three of the partitions, EFI, main,and the 15 GB Recovery. No options in that software to select anything, to do a compression.
And you know, I think Acronis might simply not be doing the compression it says it is doing.
So maybe now I am at a dead end.
Hi,
Have you done a Disk Cleanup of System Files yet, since you upgraded to Win 10...
They are kind of nice to have so you can Roll Back to the previous build, but that doesn't always work out well... Stuff tends to get a little messed up sometimes...
That could remove maybe 20GB from your internal drive...
How much used space do you actually have on your C:\ drive ?
Yes, I understand that point. I see what you're saying.
Nonetheless, without knowing something of how much space Acronis wants, no approach is better than any other for that determines which direction for the strategy. If I simply need 5 GB more, I could probably find some things to kill off of the migrated files. If it wants 140 GB more, No Can Do. That is the information that determines how to approach it. Without it, I'm left to slowly go up leaving the most options open, so move along the least, the least, the least, very slowly, a lot of time consuming tests. Until I finally find it.
So maybe tomorrow I will try it at maximum compression. I figure it is only safer with the least compression, but that is the next step. That will get me about 10GB, I think. How much do we need?! Then either image with Partition Wizard or with the OS. A distinct advantage to using Partition Wizard -- if it works when I need it -- no way to test. If it works, well, I have an image. Can't test it -- either way. If it doesn't work, hmm... How much space does it need!? I could start manually killing out stuff, folders, other, in the migrated files. I could probably reasonably eliminate at least 5 GB -- how much does it need? From there I'd have to consider what next. Maybe I won't have to go all the way to just the two partitions, will see.
If I knew how much I needed, I could cut to the quick. I could also consider other possibilities causing it.
Hi,
Seeing something and being able to use it is not quite the same thing...
The fact that Partition Wizard will do something doesn't necessarily mean it will work.
There are multiple ways to burn a ISO of Windows to a DVD... only a very small number of them will turn out to be a Bootable DVD, if you get the point...
You're not dealing with some little text messages here, that can be randomly scattered anywhere... This is a very large file...
If I remember correctly, you were having some type of similar problem doing something else, and it turned out you were selecting the wrong partition, drive, location, or something...
Is it possible that may be happening again ?
You don't have a lot of choices... I doubt that you can reverse what you have already done... Your best bet of getting this image created is to just delete #4 and #5....
Then expand\resize #3 into the open space... Don't bother with extra compression.
