[[!meta title="Resetting a USB stick or SD card using Linux"]]

[[!inline pages="doc/first_steps/reset.intro" raw="yes"]]

[[!toc levels=1]]

<a id="disks"></a>

Using <span class="application">GNOME Disks</span>
==================================================

<div class="caution">

<strong>You might overwrite any hard disk on the computer.</strong> If at some
point you are not sure about which device to choose, stop proceeding.

</div>

1.  Make sure that the USB stick or SD card that you want to reset is unplugged.

1.  Choose
    <span class="menuchoice">
      <span class="guimenu">Applications</span>&nbsp;▸
      <span class="guisubmenu">Utilities</span>&nbsp;▸
      <span class="guimenuitem">Disks</span>
    </span>
    to start <span class="application">GNOME Disks</span>.

    A list of all the storage devices on the computer appears in the left pane
    of the window.

1.  Plug the USB stick or SD card that you want to reset.

    A new device appears in the list of storage devices. This new device
    corresponds to the USB stick or SD card that you plugged in. Click on it.

1.  In the right pane of the window, verify that the device corresponds
    to the device that you want to reset, its brand, its size, etc.

1.  To reset the device, click on the <span class="guimenu">[[!img lib/emblem-system.png alt="System" class=symbolic link=no]]</span> button
    in the titlebar and choose <span class="guilabel">Format…</span>.

1.  In the <span class="guilabel">Format Disk</span> dialog:

    a. If you want to erase all data securely, choose to
    <span class="guilabel">Overwrite existing data with zeroes</span> in the
    <span class="guilabel">Erase</span> drop-down list.

    a. Choose <span class="guilabel">Compatible with all
    systems and devices (MBR/DOS)</span> in the <span class="guilabel">Partitioning</span>
    drop-down list.

    Then click on the <span class="button">Format…</span> button.

1.  In the confirmation dialog, click on the <span class="button">Format</span>
    button to confirm.

1.  To make sure that all the changes are written to the device, click on the
    <span class="guimenu">[[!img lib/media-eject.png alt="Eject" class=symbolic link=no]]</span>
    button in the titlebar.

Resetting a Tails device from itself
====================================

If Tails is your only Linux system, you can generally reset a Tails USB stick or SD card
directly from that device while running Tails.

1.  When starting Tails, add the <span class="command">toram</span> boot
    option in the <span class="application">boot menu</span>. For detailed
    instructions, see the documentation on [[using the <span
    class="application">boot menu</span>|startup_options#boot_menu]].

2.  If Tails starts as usual, follow the instructions for [[resetting a USB stick or SD card
    using <span class="application">GNOME Disks</span>|linux#disks]].

    **If the system fails to start**, that means that the computer does not have
    enough memory for this operation mode. Try with another computer, or find
    another Linux system, such as another Tails device, to do the reset from.
