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.

0 comments No comments
Answer accepted by question author
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..

Was this answer helpful?

2 people found this answer helpful.
0 comments No comments

596 additional answers

Sort by: Most helpful
  1. Anonymous
    2016-02-22T17:07:09+00:00

    I'm answering below in capital letters:

    In a way, Acronis does in fact say how much space it needs...

    In particular, the area where you select compression... It specifically states it's estimated image size for each compression level... The estimates it makes on my machine are actually too high... Acronis claimed 28GB, and the finished image was only 20GB...

    YES, I KNOW, I GAVE YOU THE NUMBERS ACRONIS SAID  THE IMAGE WILL BE -- ABOUT 83 GB AT NORMAL COMPRESSION, AND ABOUT 72 GB AT MAXIMUM  COMPRESSION - THIS ON SPACE  THAT HAS 99+ GB  EMPTY

    Are you selecting "Sector by Sector" by chance ?... Don't...

    NO, I  MEANT TO  MENTION  THAT, I  USED THE OTHER  WAY,  FULL OR WHATEVER ITS CALLED, SECTOR BY SECTOR IS SLOWER AND IS NOT HOW I  DID THE  8.1 IMAGE. WHATEVER ITS CALLED, I  DID NOT DO SECTOR  BY SECTOR.

    I did some checking on image size differences between Used Space, Windows Image, and Acronis Image... 

    Here's an example... you can calculate the percentages for your machine if you wish, but I think my numbers make things obvious...

    I have a 128GB SSD with 53GB of Used Space as determined by the Windows Image feature and C:\ Properties...

    Windows claims it will need UP TO 54GB to create an Image...

    The actual image is 33GB...

    This is because I have two System Files on C:\ that are empty when doing a restart, and are used as needed by Windows when running... PageFile and HiberFil...

    On my machine they always take up 12.5GB each... even though they may be empty...

    These files were basically empty when the image was made, so it ended up being 20GB smaller than the estimate...

    OK,  SO YOU;RE SAYING IT MIGHT BE WROTH TRYING TO DO THE IMAGE FROM THE OS BECAUSE EIT MIGHT BE WELL  SMALLER  THAN THE 126 GB  IT SAYS  IT MIGHT NEED -- IT MGHT NEED  AS  MUCH AS THAT, BUT MIGHT NEED SUBSTANTIALLY LESS. THAT IS THE SIZE OF ALL THE FILES, SO IT WON'T NEED MORE THAN  THAT. BAD  COMMUNICATION BY THEM.  OK, I CAN GIVE IT A TEST RUN. IN FACT, MAYBE I'LL  GO  START THAT NOW. WELL,  ANOTHER THING I DO'T LIEK ABOTU THAT IS IT  WILL IMAGE EOINLY THE THREE PARTITIONS, EFI, PRIMARY, AND THE 15 GB RECOVERY. THE OTHER THREE ARE LEFT  BEHIND, AND I WOULD LIKE TO GET THEM. THE OS DOES NOT PROVIDE OPTIONS IN  SETTINGS TO PICK WHICH PARTITIONS NOR  COMPRESSION  LEVEL OR ANYTHING. I DO WANT A BACKUP THAT INCLUDES ALL THE GATEWAY  STUFF.  IT ALSO DOESN'T LET  ME PUT IT ON THE DRIVE WHERE I WANT IT, DOESN'T EVEN TELL ME WHERE IT IS PUTTING IT. HMM, DOESN'T EVEN SAY WHETHER I WILL BE ABLE  TO ADD TO IT LATER ORNOT --  NO SETTING FOR THAT.  MAYBE I COULD ADD THE OTHER PARTITIONS WIHT ACRONIS  -- BUT THAT IS MIXING APPLICATIONS FOR A  SINGLE  IMAGE?

    EDIT: I JUST RAN  WHILE WRITING THESE ANSWERS. THE OS STOPPED IT  AND  SAID IT  NEEDED MORE SPACE, NO CLUE HOW  MUCH SPACE IT WANTS OR THE ACTUAL SIZE OF THE IMAGE  IT WAS GOING TO MAKE.

    Then there is the Acronis Image that was made with all default settings... I never touched anything concerning Options... It is 20GB with Normal Compression by Default.

    Then I did a Acronis Image with Maximum Compression... It is 18.8GB....

    This didn't accomplish much...

    The Acronis Images are compressed, but the majority of the size reduction is the 25GB from the empty system folders... The Image would be 28GB with no compression at all...  Then 18.8GB with Maximum Compression.. 67%...

    If you take your 124GB and subtract the same 25GB... although your's will be a different number... maybe even larger... You end up with about 99GB which should compress to around 66GB... Then add in your other partitions...

    RE: External drive... I didn't mention deleting everything and expanding #3 in both directions because of the Hidden 128MB partition...

    I don't think there is anything wrong with the #3 partition that wouldn't be corrected by deleting #4 and #5... And I mean DELETE... not just slide the bar over...

    OK, I'M NOT SURE THERE IS ANYTHING WRONG WITH  ANY OF THEM. HOWEVER, IF THERE IS, ALL THAT HAS BEEN INVOLVED SO FAR IS #3, AND BY  THE END OF 4, IT SAID THE IMAGE  NEEDED MORE SPACE.  THAT  SUGGESTS  THAT  PROBLEM PARTITION IS #3, SINCE THE SPACE ISSUE AROSE BEFORE ACRONIS  EVER DEALT WITH #5 --  AND THUS, THERE APPEARS TO BE AN ISSUE REGARDLESS OF #5. I WILL ALSO SAY, I DON'T SEE  WHY #4 WOULD BE AN ISSUE, ALTHOUGH IT MIGHT BE CONSIDERED TO BE UNNECESSARY. BUT IT IS SO SMALL,  I'D RATHER KEEP  IT WITH ANY GATEWAY STUFF THAT MIGHT  BE ON IT. AND OF THE THREE PARTITIONS THE OS THINKS  SHOUD BE TAKEN, IT TAKES #5,  SO SEEMS TO THINK THAT  SHOULD BE KEPT.  

    WELL, PERHAPS WE NOW ARE TALKING OF JUST RETAINING THE PRIMARY PARTITION AND EXPANDING  IT, AND YOU THINK EXPANDING IT INTO #2 IS A PROBLEM? AT THIS POINT, THE DISK IS BEING LOOKED AT AS MERE STORAGE, NOT BOOTABLE. WE ARE TALKING OF CLEARING OUT ALL THE MIGRATED FILES FROM THE PRIMARY PARTITION AND EXPANDING IT TO THE SIZE OF THE DISK. I DON'T SEE WHY #2 WOULD BE AN ISSUE FOR THAT. AT ANY RATE, ACRONIS  WILL ALLOW ME TO LAP OVER IT AND TAKEN #1 INTO #3, LEAVING #2. #2 IS ONLY 130 MB OR SO, NOT  IMPORTANT FOR SPACE JUST AN IRRITANT TO HAVE AROUND UNNECESSARILY. AND WE ALREADY KNOW  TWO PARTITIONS ON THE EXTERNAL IDE BRINGS  CERTAIN PROBLEMS OF ACCESS ITSELF  -- I CAN'T MAKE AN IMAGE TO A SECOND PARTITION, THERE ARE ISSUES ABOUT A SECOND PARTITION.

    BTW... Where are you getting the idea you have all of this available space on #3....

    C:\ on the Internal is 124GB used (approx.)...

    Half of your 268GB on the #3 is gone right there... 268-124 (approx.)

    You said the Win 8.1 image was something like 88GB...

    That leaves 56GB...     How do you expect to get 75GB on there...

    Even if you were successful in obtaining another 15GB from #5, it is still not enough...

    TO  CLARIFY FOR  YOU, FIRST, THE AMOUNT OF  SPACE FILLED ON THE PRIMARY PARTITION  INCLUDES THE WIN 8.1 IMAGE ON IT.  SO, THAT ABOUT 88  GB  IS ALREADY  INCLUDED, IS NOT SOMETHING TO SUBTRACT AS YOU DID. 

    SECOND, NOT SURE WHERE THE 268 GB NUMBER CAME FROM, I MIGHT HAVE GIVEN IT. BUT IN LOOKING NOW, THE OS  SAYS THAT PARTITION IS 280.38 GB, WITH 99.5  GB EMPTY, 180 GB USED.(THE FULL DISK IS 297.97  GB.)

    SO, YOU MISCALCULATED BY SUBTRACTING THE SIZE OF THE WIN  8.1 IMAGE, AND PERHAPS  I GAVE  A WRONG, LOW NUMBER PREVIOUSLY  FOR  THE SIZE OF THE PARTITION, MUST  HAVE  BEEN FOR SOMETHING  ELSE.

    AGAIN:

    PARTITION 1 = 637 MB

    #2 =- 300 MB

    #3 = 280.38 GB

    #4 = 886 MB

    #5 = 15.80 GB

    AND THE INVISIBLE PARTITION, WHICH IF I RECALL IS SOMETHING LIEK 128 MB OR 150 MB.

    If you were to delete #4 and #5 it might just make it... that would be approximately 90GB of useable space without losing any of your migrated #1, #2, or #3... which are by far the most important...

    WELL, YOUR COMMENT  IS FROM YOIUR ARITHMETIC  ABOVE, AND I ALREADY  EXPLAINED THE MISTAKE THERE. WE HAVE NO IDEA HOW MUCH SPACE IT WANTS. EVERYTHING I DO  COULD MAKE IT SO IT JUST MAKES IT. IT  ALREADY MAKES IT, AT MAXIMUM  COMPRESSION IT IS ONLY 72 GB, TO PUT ON 99.5  GB OF SPACE! ANYTHING SUBTRACTED MIGHT MAKE  IT -- UNELSS WE ACTUALLY KNEW HOW MUCH SPACE IT WANTED.

    Was this answer helpful?

    0 comments No comments
  2. Anonymous
    2016-02-22T02:15:29+00:00

    Hi,

    In a way, Acronis does in fact say how much space it needs...

    In particular, the area where you select compression... It specifically states it's estimated image size for each compression level... The estimates it makes on my machine are actually too high... Acronis claimed 28GB, and the finished image was only 20GB...

    Are you selecting "Sector by Sector" by chance ?... Don't...

    I did some checking on image size differences between Used Space, Windows Image, and Acronis Image... 

    Here's an example... you can calculate the percentages for your machine if you wish, but I think my numbers make things obvious...

    I have a 128GB SSD with 53GB of Used Space as determined by the Windows Image feature and C:\ Properties...

    Windows claims it will need UP TO 54GB to create an Image...

    The actual image is 33GB...

    This is because I have two System Files on C:\ that are empty when doing a restart, and are used as needed by Windows when running... PageFile and HiberFil...

    On my machine they always take up 12.5GB each... even though they may be empty...

    These files were basically empty when the image was made, so it ended up being 20GB smaller than the estimate...

    Then there is the Acronis Image that was made with all default settings... I never touched anything concerning Options... It is 20GB with Normal Compression by Default.

    Then I did a Acronis Image with Maximum Compression... It is 18.8GB....

    This didn't accomplish much...

    The Acronis Images are compressed, but the majority of the size reduction is the 25GB from the empty system folders... The Image would be 28GB with no compression at all...  Then 18.8GB with Maximum Compression.. 67%...

    If you take your 124GB and subtract the same 25GB... although your's will be a different number... maybe even larger... You end up with about 99GB which should compress to around 66GB... Then add in your other partitions...

    RE: External drive... I didn't mention deleting everything and expanding #3 in both directions because of the Hidden 128MB partition...

    I don't think there is anything wrong with the #3 partition that wouldn't be corrected by deleting #4 and #5... And I mean DELETE... not just slide the bar over...

    BTW... Where are you getting the idea you have all of this available space on #3....

    C:\ on the Internal is 124GB used (approx.)...

    Half of your 268GB on the #3 is gone right there... 268-124 (approx.)

    You said the Win 8.1 image was something like 88GB...

    That leaves 56GB...     How do you expect to get 75GB on there...

    Even if you were successful in obtaining another 15GB from #5, it is still not enough...

    If you were to delete #4 and #5 it might just make it... that would be approximately 90GB of useable space without losing any of your migrated #1, #2, or #3... which are by far the most important...

    EDIT... I would trust Norton Utilities for some of my stuff, but I haven't used any of them in a number of years... Norton became part of Symantec and some of the product naming was changed... I think I have actually seen Norton Utilities being sold again though...

    The name of the actual Defragmenter was Speed Disk.. I still have it around here somewhere... The antivirus stuff is long expired, but the included utilities are not...

    Was this answer helpful?

    0 comments No comments
  3. Anonymous
    2016-02-22T01:01:46+00:00

    OK, will look into that tomorrow. Can't absorb anything more today.

    BTW, I only looked at defragmenting because that is all Windows offered. The  Mac stuff I spoke of does a lot more. It fixes files and plenty of techy stuff, fixes the drive's catalog tree, etc. I don't know what else, too techy for me to know, but  other too I believe. In fact, in TechTool Pro, defragmenting is a completely different tool  in it. I was thinking a  tool like those might fix any issue that might (or might not) be  going on with the partition.

    I believe Norton Utilities once was a name for doing defragmentation, and don't know, maybe do more. Not sure about its reputation any more.  

    We could make a lot better guesses about  things if Acronis simply told us how much space it needed -- that info would be very telling.

    Was this answer helpful?

    0 comments No comments
  4. Anonymous
    2016-02-22T00:42:44+00:00

    No point  in saving  any  of the migrated files  if I eliminate much out of the primary partition -- that primary  partition is the main thing I need saved, the rest is just the OS that could  be reinstalled clean  if I  needed it. Without the stuff on the primary partition, I might as well install clean.

    So, if I have to get  rid of that, should get rid of  all the  partitions  except that one, and expand that one to the size of the drive. Saving only the 8.1 Image on it. I then  would add the Win 10 image to that.

    But the problem now is: We would be saving the very partition that might have something wrong that is confusing  Acronis. It would  still  potentially be  confusing  Acronis -- but I will have  lost everything in  the meantime. We have been thinking that the change of size has left Acronis misreading it, not that  there really is not  enough space. We know there actually is way  more space than needed -- than needed for the final image, but maybe not  enough for Acronis to do  its  work.

    I am between two computers -- never mind more stories  about why. Difficult to be back and forth with info, especially since my one pad of notes  seems to have disappeared. 

    But the internal C drive is:

    USED: 134,025,891,840  bytes, or 124 GB. (Isn't that a mis-conversion to  GB they give?!)

    Free: 323 GB (never mind in bytes, some possible mis-conversion)

    TOTAL on drive: 448 GB.

    So, 124 GB is all of  it uncompressed, same as the image size the OS said it would  make. (I don't know why to go  with an Image instead of migrated files you can access, if the size is going to be the same!) Acronis compresses it, and that is why to use it to make an Image. The free space on the primary partition of the external drive, which is where  I am trying to put the image, is 99.5 GB. The smallest  files I tried putting on the 99 GB of space is 71 GB  - and Acronis  said it is too much, but it obviously is not.

    I note, when Acronis does this, it spends an hour or two hour or whatever going through all the partition to make an Image. Then it craps out just before starting the last partition of 15 GB. But, it has not put  any partial image on the partition. Ther e is nothing for me to kill  out before I  try again.

    If it is not having  a partial image on the partition as it goes, then it has to be using the drive to store what  it is doing until it makes it into a partition, a it can't store that on the DVD. I suspect that is the issue. It  IS using  space on the drive while it is working. I don't think the partition is damaged, I think Acronis  is using  it in the background until it  makes the image on the drive  as the final  step, and  that  temporary stuff is deleted or just disappears.

    I'm quite burned out on this. I will have to read what you said again tomorrow, because I went through it and in the end found nothing. I'm sure there is something  there. One thing that confused, you said no  third party  software  to use on internal, then said to use third party software. I'm not using it on internal now anyway, that would be for the external to fix a  partition in case a partition  is causing a misreading. I don't think there is a misreading, I think Acronis  is using some of the space  during it work, but running a fix might surprise me. It  would be  nice if they would let us know how much space is needed so we could see about accommodating that.

    It old you the  amount of space the OSD said would be emptied if I ran Disk Cleaning, but it was only MB size, not tens of GB. So those files must be gone, one way or another. But  now I see why you asked,  because those files could  be used potentially. I originally thought you were saying that to make the image  smaller still. 

    Too much to read. :(

    Im not doing  anymore eon it today. Possibly tomorrow  after thinking on things.l Maybe not  for  a few days, depending. So go way the  Daytona  or whatever,  I don't need fast responses  today. Thanks for even in thinking you  should jump n it -- you're  the one great thing in all this ****  for months and month,.Gee, I  thought I was all past that, just  had to make the image, had plenty enough space for it. Like I have said all along, it  is  every  last  inch  a road block.

    Was this answer helpful?

    0 comments No comments