[[!meta title="Starting Tails on PC"]]

[[!meta stylesheet="install/inc/stylesheets/standalone" rel="stylesheet" title=""]]

This page describes the basic and advanced techniques to start Tails from a USB stick on PC.

<h1 id="windows-restart">Starting from Windows</h1>

From Windows or the sign-in screen of Windows:

<div class="next">
<p>If the Boot Loader appears, you can follow our [[instructions
on the Welcome Screen|install/windows#tails]].</p>
</div>

<h1 id="boot-menu-key">Starting with the Boot Menu key</h1>

<h1 id="automatically">Starting on Tails automatically</h1>

To start on Tails automatically when your Tails USB stick is plugged in:

Open the BIOS or UEFI settings of the computer.

To learn how to edit the BIOS or UEFI settings, search for the user manual of
the computer on the support website of the manufacturer.

Edit the **Boot Order**. You might see an entry for **Removable devices** or **USB media**. Move this entry to the top of the list to force the computer to start from the USB stick before starting from the internal hard disk.

<h1 id="not-at-all">Troubleshooting Tails not starting at all</h1>

Use this section if the computer does not start from the USB stick and the Boot Loader does not display:

[[!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)'."]]

<h2 id="verify">Verify your Tails USB stick</h2>

<p>If you get the following error message in Windows:</p>

<p class="code">The disc image file is corrupted.</p>

<p>Then, you have to [[install Tails using <i>Rufus</i>|install/windows#rufus]].</p>

<h2 id="known-issues">Check our list of known issues</h2>