[[!meta title="Adding boot options using the Boot Loader"]] The Boot Loader is the first screen that appears when starting Tails.

The Troubleshooting Mode 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 errors related to hardware compatibility while starting Tails.

[[!toc levels=1]] Depending on the computer, the Boot Loader might be either *GRUB* or *SYSLINUX*. Using *SYSLINUX* ================ This is how *SYSLINUX* looks like: [[!img install/inc/screenshots/syslinux.png link="no" alt="Black screen ('SYSLINUX') with Tails logo and 2 options: 'Tails' and 'Tails (Troubleshooting Mode)'."]] If your Boot Loader looks differently, refer to our instructions on adding a boot option [[using GRUB|boot_options#grub]] below. To add a boot option in *SYSLINUX*: 1. Press **Tab** when *SYSLINUX* appears. A list of boot options appears at the bottom of the screen. [[!img syslinux-with-options.png link="no" alt="SYSLINUX with a list of options starting with '/live/vmlinuz' at the bottom"]] 2. Press Space and type the boot option that you want to add. 3. If you want to add more than one boot option, type them one after the other and separate them by a Space. 4. Press Enter to start Tails. Using *GRUB* ============ This is how GRUB looks like: [[!img install/inc/screenshots/grub.png link="no" alt="Black screen ('GNU GRUB') with Tails logo and 2 options: 'Tails' and 'Tails (Troubleshooting Mode)'."]] If your Boot Loader looks differently, refer to our instructions on adding a boot option [[using SYSLINUX|boot_options#syslinux]] above. To add a boot option in *GRUB*: 1. Press **e** when GRUB appears. A new screen appears with more options. [[!img grub-with-options.png link="no" alt="GRUB with a list of options starting with 'setparams Tails'"]] 1. Navigate with the arrows of the keyboard to the end of the line that starts with linux. The line is most likely wrapped and displayed on several lines on the screen but it is a single configuration line. 1. Type the boot option that you want to add. 1. If you want to add more than one boot option, type them one after the other and separate them by a Space. 1. Press **Ctrl+X** to start Tails.