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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..
OK, so bottom line is to just set Windows Update Properties window to Disabled before Aug. 2. OK.
When you are saying to put it back to manual when I'm ready to install the update, I think that would be if I want to do it from the Internet, rather than from my desktop, right? If I'm going to do it from the desktop, I think I would leave that setting disabled until after the update is completed from the desktop. Right? Actually, I wonder whether the update will automatically change the setting to manual, will see.
BTW, when doing ti from the desktop, is if OK to turn off my WiFi connection to the Web, or will the installation require a Web connection, maybe at the end?
As for right clicking on Windows Update in Services, I see that menu. However, as it currently is set to manual, it does not allow me to click on Stop, that is greyed out. The only thing it allows me to click on in that menu is Start or Properties. Again, I don't understand how it can need to be Started since it is already doing the updates automatically, even as set for manual.
As for Task Manager, understood. But I believe we have determined that is not going to be useful for what we're discussing.
Thanks again. MS should pay you for this, and users should not need to have all these questions.
Hi,
You are seeing what you should be seeing in SERVICES, and Services for Windows Update... If you were to right click on the Windows Update you would see a list of options... all of which are available under the Properties of Windows Update...
The reason for the "Startup Type" wording is in regards as to how the Services start when you boot your computer... It could also be interpreted as to how the individual services "Run"...
If you will notice in Services, that there are two types of "Manual" in the listings for the different services... Some have a (Triggered) and some don't...
The Triggered is not something that can be changed... it is part of the command. As a result it is not one of the options like Disabled, Automatic, and etc...
As far as the Task Scheduler goes... You need to Expand the "Task Scheduler Library" to get to more tasks... Here are some images of my machine...
With "Windows" Expanded...
And the "Bottom" of the "Windows" list for "Windows Update"
Among other possibilities, this is why the Windows Update in SERVICES has a (Triggered)...
In the end, it would probably be best to set Windows Update in SERVICES to DISABLED... That pretty much prevents it from running at all...
Then when you are ready to install the upgrade, put it back to Manual... You can also right click on it and select STOP, so it doesn't do anything weird before you launch the upgrade...
Any more questions, feel free to ask... I really can't explain some of Microsoft's use of terminology... Some of it doesn't make a lot of sense...
Again, thank you. But after you responses, I need clarification, sorry.
In my Services, there is only one listing for Windows Update, called Windows Update. When I click on that, the window that opens is called Windows Update Properties. In fact, when I clicked on a couple other things in that Services list, they seem to all open to ** Properties. And, in that photo I sent you a link to, you can see on the right that what I have selected in Services is Windows Update, but on the left, the window that opens is Windows Update Properties.
You looked in a couple places after that first response about the window, so did you change your mind, am I in the right window, Windows Update Properties? And in the General tab, the only tab that seems pertinent.
Re Task Scheduler, I see nothing in my list to do with Windows Update. My list is somewhat longer than yours for some reason, at least some of it because of added applications, such as Adobe Reader.
To make sure I'm in the right place in Task Scheduler, once opened, in the left column, I have two things listed:
Task Scheduler (Local)
and a sub-thing under it called Task Scheduler Library.
In ...(Local), well, that's nothing.
In ...Library, I have 20 items in the list in the middle column, none of which have anything to do with Windows Update. I have Adobe, ALU, Device Manager, Google, Microsoft Hardware Launch, Microsoft MKC Login, NU Auto Update, Opera, Optimize Start Menu, Power Management, and Synaptics. (Not full name of each listing, or the multiples related to some of them, just enough to make it clear it is not Windows Update). (I think NU is the abbreviation for an application I have.)
So, I can't do anything with Windows Update in Task Manager -- and you're saying it didn't stop updating ayway, so I guess we can just forget about Task Manager. And under Services, selecting Windows Update, I get only Windows Update Properties, and I already noted it is set for Manual -- see the link to the photo of that.
So, back to the beginning. Am I in the right window when it opens Windows Update Properties, and is changing the manual setting to disabled the only thing that I need to do -- again, that setting is listed as "Startup Type," not "how to run." And if "startup type" simply means "how to run it," well, it is set for manual now, but it runs automatically instead.
I suspect the issue of this entire discussion is that Microsoft wasn't paying attention in English class in grammar school, and so now it uses phrases that don't mean what it intends to be saying. After all, choosing manual instead of automatic should mean it doesn't run automatically! But it does. And choosing Windows Update should open Windows Update, not Windows Update Properties. And Startup Type doesn't mean Run It.
Correction... Even with the Windows Update Scheduled Tasks Disabled, my machine just checked for updates.. So you should probably do the last three paragraphs on my last reply...
