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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,
Thanks for posting your query on Microsoft Community.
The error might occur if the CD/DVD drive is unable to connect with the motherboard.
ATAPI is made to connect all portable devices to your motherboard including RAM, hard drives, CD-ROMs, DVD drives, and other devices.
I suggest you download and install the latest chipset driver from the manufacturer’s website and check if it helps.
Refer to the below link:
http://www.gateway.com/worldwide/support/
Hope it helps, reply to us with the status of your issue. We will be happy to assist you.
Thank you! In going to your Gateway link and to support and downloads, I see nothing for "chipset driver" or anything that appears related to CD/DVD drive. Can you please take a look and tell me if you see on the list what you are talking about:
This is a Gateway notebook, model NE56R.
The only one by a stretch that might be related to what you wrote is the one called "MgmtEngine_Intel_9.5.14.1724_W81x64_A.zip." I did download and install that -- don't know if I already had it from a year ago when it came out. I restarted. I then inserted the CD again, and restarted again -- and got the same message, and it booted from the hard drive, not the CD. So that did nothing of use for this issue.
Don't those Gateway updates also get downloaded automatically with "System Update" anyway? I'm fully updated.
But let me ask perhaps for a little more clarification, or give you a little more that perhaps you overlooked in my post.
I have to think the DVD drive is connecting with the motherboard, because once the OS on the hard drive boots, I can open the CD or DVD and see everything on it, so it does connect. And yes, I also hear the disk spin in the DVD drive during startup.
Doesn't that mean it is connected with the motherboard -- how could it be mounted if it did not connect?
Thanks again.
I've tried some more things, so let me add -- sorry, this is getting long, with no solution so far.
I found in a Googleing one person saying to disable Secure Boot in bios. And to enable Legacy Boot or CSM boot, in order to get it booting from the internal DVD drive.
(First, let me note, there is no function key to press when starting up to get to bios, you have to do it after starting from the HDD and going into Change PC Settings, and about 15 steps through things that have zero to do with it and involving TWO restarts, so no one in their right mind would go that route. It is unconscionable, and whomever made it like that should be sent to prison. I guess if the HDD files, I can't get to bios at all.)
On this Gateway, there is no "disable secure boot" in bios, no "enable Legacy" or "enable CSM boot." What I could do was to create a supervisor password so I can even access that area, once done I could erase the settings for Secure Boot mode. No help, still will not boot from DVD drive, even using a disk I have used on other machines so know it works. However, I did not get that message any more about being blocked by the security policy -- but it would not proceed from that point no matter what bootable disk I tried, so that doesn't even matter.
So, I entered "Select an UEFI file as trusted for executing." The only thing to select from in there is HDD, even though I had the CD in the DVD drive -- so I can't even select the CD or anything on it. So that fails. If I go into HDD, I get to select from:
*<.>
*<..>
*Microsoft
*Boot
*OEM
Who knows what <.> or <..> is! I chose Boot. All that is in there is Bootx64.efi, and presumably that is on the HDD, so no use.
So, I put everything back as original using the "Restore factory defaults" option, and got rid of the supervisor password. We're back to original.
I've learned some more, and feel I have gotten a step closer. But there still is no solution. This is now looking like it is related to being a Gateway notebook, using Windows 8 which requires UEFI booting, and a need to add drives to Windows Boot Manager. Maybe. I still might have an issue with this particular bootable CD and Secure Booting, but I have to get it booting from any CD first just to find out.
(I have learned I can get into bios during startup by holding down the F2 key. Never mind the whole story behind that.)
It seems that when in UEFI boot mode, you cannot boot from external hard drive or from USB. Great. You must be in UEFI mode to boot from Windows 8. So, if you switch to Legacy Bios, you can't boot from the internal hard drive. This is a pretty damn critical thing for neither Windows/Microsoft nor Gateway to say anything about right up front!
It looks now like if I can find out how to add drives to Windows Boot Manager, I should have it solved, at least as far as being able to boot a CD even if not this particular one. I can find no way to do that, and the Help menu knows nothing of "Boot Manager." What a useless Help menu. What I have found says that if I use that to select the boot drive, I can leave it set as UEFI regardless.
I suppose alternately, I might be able to do it by a very cumbersome method each time I want to do it, by going into bios and switching the boot mode from UEFI to Legacy Bios, and then switching back when I want to boot from the hard drive. But it does not seem like I should have to do all that every time. I haven't tested it yet -- I'm afraid, if I go into Legacy Mode, I don't know what trouble that might create for getting back.
I can now get into bios during startup, and in that I turned on Windows Boot Manager -- I had no idea what it was before, and it was off by default. I can then access Boot Manager and the Boot Option Menu by holding down the F12 key during startup. I'm supposed to then be able to select what drive to boot from, and it will boot, supposedly regardless of whether it is set for Legacy Bios or UEFI.
However, when I go into Boot Manager, it lists only the one drive, the internal hard drive, even though I have a tested bootable CD in the CD-DVD drive, and the computer does read the CD once started up, and I hear the CD drive spinning during startup.
So, how can I add the CD-DVD drive into Boot Manager? I see no settings or other to do anything in there other than select the drive I want to use.
Also under Boot Manager, that is where I can change boot mode. The Help menu on the right says I can select UEFI, Legacy Bios or Dual. Dual sounds like the one to select, but when I go into that, the only choice is UEFI and Legacy Bios, Dual is not there to choose! Dang. Pretty poor Help menu -- false hope!
So, that is where I'm at as far as being able to boot from a CD-DVD drive. I NEED HELP.
Secondly, once I am able to boot something from CD, the original issue about "Security Policy" might or might not still have to be addressed.
Regarding that, in Bios, under the Boot tab, it lists "Secure Boot: Enabled." I can't access that, even after creating a password with that lets me access the other items. I have to think if I turned that to Disabled, that would bypass the issue of "Security Policy." (But would it be safe to do that -- I can't even find what the policies are?) But how can I change that to disabled? Or, how can I otherwise fix that issue, if it is not fixed automatically by solving the issue of booting from any bootable CD? (I currently can't boot from any CD or DVD.)
