[[!meta title="Your data won't be saved unless explicitly asked"]]

As stated in the [[/about]] page, Tails is designed to leave no trace on the
computer you're using unless you ask it explicitly. It is important
to understand some of the consequences of that.

Starting a computer on a media containing Tails doesn't change anything on the
operating system actually installed on your hard disk: as a live system, Tails
doesn't need to use your hard disk during the whole session. Be your hard disk absent
or damaged, it wouldn't prevent your computer to start Tails. Consequently,
removing the DVD or USB stick containing Tails is enough to retrieve your usual
operating system.

You should save anything you want to keep for later access into a
separate device (other USB stick, other DVD or any device you would choose),
or use the [[persistence feature|first_steps/persistence]].

<a id="access_hdd"></a>

Accessing internal hard disks
=============================

<div class="caution">

<p>Accessing internal disks of the computer has security implications:

<ul>
  <li>You can leave traces of your activities in Tails on the hard disks.</li>
  <li>If Tails is compromised, a malware could install itself on your usual operating system.</li>
  <li>If an application in Tails is compromised, it could access private data on your disks and use it to de-anonymize you.</li>
</ul>

</p>

</div>

To access internal hard disks:

1. When starting Tails, [[set up an administration password|doc/first_steps/startup_options/administration_password/]].

2. Open the [[*Nautilus* file manager|doc/first_steps/introduction_to_gnome_and_the_tails_desktop#nautilus]].

3. Click on the hard disk of your choice in the left pane.

<div class="caution">

<p>If your usual operating system is in
hibernation, accessing it might corrupt your file system. Only access your disk
if your system was shut down properly.</p>

</div>

<div class="note">

<p>If your disks use LVM (Logical Volume Manager), for example if you
use the full disk encryption of many Linux distributions, you can:</p>

<ol>
<li>Start the volume group by executing <span class="command">vgchange
-ay</span> in a root terminal.</li>
<li>Mount logical volumes using <span class="application">GNOME
Disks</span>.</li>
</ol>

<p>If you have a GNU/Linux system on your disks, you can only access
files owned by the first user (<code>uid=1000</code>) on that system.</p>

<p>In all cases, you might encounter permissions problems. To bypass
permission limitations, you can run <span class="application">Nautilus</span>
with administration rights.</p>

</div>
