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en	Make sure that you have installed Tails using either:

en	[[Rufus from Windows|install/windows#rufus]]

en	[[balenaEtcher from macOS|install/mac#etcher]]

en	[[GNOME Disks from Linux|install/linux#install]]

en	[[the Linux command line|install/expert#install]]

en	Click on the Start [[!img lib/start.png alt="" class="symbolic" link="no"]] button.

en	Press and hold the <strong>Shift</strong> key while you choose <strong>Power</strong>&nbsp;▸ <strong>Restart</strong>.

en	In the Choose an option screen, choose Use a device.

en	[[!img install/inc/screenshots/choose_an_option.png class="screenshot" alt=""]]

en	If the Choose an option screen or the Use a device option don't appear, refer to the [[instructions on starting Tails using the Boot Menu key|doc/first_steps/start/pc#boot-menu-key]].

en	In the Use a device screen, choose Boot Menu.

en	Windows shuts down, the computer restarts, and a Boot Menu appears.

en	Plug in your Tails USB stick shortly after choosing Boot Menu and while Windows is shutting down.

en	If your Windows has no Boot Menu option available, make sure that your intermediary Tails USB stick is plugged in and choose your USB stick directly in the list of devices.

en	In the future, we We recommend that you only plug in your Tails USB stick while Windows is shutting down. Otherwise, a virus in Windows could infect your Tails USB stick and break its security.

en	Such an attack is possible in theory but very unlikely in practice. We don't know of any virus capable of infecting Tails. See our [[warning on plugging Tails in untrusted systems|doc/about/warnings/computer#software]].

en	The Boot Menu is a list of possible devices to start from. The following screenshot is an example of a Boot Menu:

en	[[!img install/inc/screenshots/boot_menu.png class="screenshot" alt=""]]

en	In the Boot Menu, select your USB stick and press Enter.

en	If the computer starts on Tails, the Boot Loader appears and Tails starts automatically after 4 seconds.

en	[[!img install/inc/screenshots/grub.png class="screenshot" alt="Black screen ('GNU GRUB') with Tails logo and 3 options: 'Tails' and 'Tails (Troubleshooting Mode)' and 'Tails (External Hard Disk)'."]]

en	The Troubleshooting Mode entry disables some features of the Linux kernel and might work better on some computers. You can try this option if you think you are experiencing hardware compatibility errors while starting Tails.

en	The External Hard Disk entry makes it possible to [[start from an external hard disk|doc/advanced_topics/external_hard_disk]] and some [[problematic USB sticks|support/known_issues#problematic-usb-stick]].