What you need
- A laptop or desktop with an Intel or AMD chip that runs Windows 10 or 11, or another Linux, in UEFI mode.
- A USB stick of 8 GB or more. Everything on it will be erased.
- To keep Windows: about 65 GB of free space on its disk. Setup splits the free space between Windows and Tacit and shows how much each one gets. To use the whole disk: a disk of 32 GB or more.
- The charger plugged in. Installing takes about 10 minutes.
Download Tacit
Tacit 2026.10.17 for Intel and AMD computers · 3.1 GB · SHA-256 checksum (signed)
Put it on a USB stick
On Windows, use Rufus: pick your USB stick, pick the Tacit file, and press Start. When Rufus asks how to write the image, choose DD image mode.
On a Mac or Linux, use balenaEtcher: pick the Tacit file, pick the USB stick, and press Flash.
Get Windows ready
Do this if you want to keep Windows. If Tacit will use the whole disk, copy your files somewhere else and go to step 4.
Copy your important files
Tacit leaves your Windows files where they are, but a copy on another drive or online is always worth having before you change a disk.
Turn off BitLocker
Tacit can't make room on a locked disk. In Windows 11 Home, open Settings › Privacy & security › Device encryption and turn it off. In Windows Pro, open Control Panel › BitLocker Drive Encryption and choose Turn off BitLocker. Wait until Windows says it has finished; it can take a while.
Shut Windows down fully
Windows usually pauses instead of shutting down, and Tacit can't make room next to a paused Windows. Hold Shift while you choose Shut down. To stop Windows pausing at all, open Control Panel › Power Options › Choose what the power buttons do, choose Change settings that are currently unavailable, and untick Turn on fast startup.
Turn off Secure Boot
Tacit 1.0 doesn't start while Secure Boot is on. From Windows, open Settings › System › Recovery, choose Restart now next to Advanced startup, then Troubleshoot › Advanced options › UEFI Firmware Settings. Find Secure Boot, often under Boot or Security, set it to Disabled, then save and exit.
Turn off BitLocker before Secure Boot. With BitLocker on, Windows asks for its recovery key the next time it starts.
Start from the USB stick
With the stick plugged in, open Settings › System › Recovery in Windows, choose Restart now next to Advanced startup, then Use a device, and pick the USB stick.
Or press the start menu key as the computer switches on:
| Dell, Lenovo, Acer | F12 |
| HP | F9 |
| ASUS | Esc |
| MSI | F11 |
| Microsoft Surface | Hold the volume down button, then press power |
Try it, then install
Tacit starts from the stick and Setup opens over the desktop. It asks your language and your Wi-Fi network, then where Tacit should go:
- Next to Windows. Setup shrinks Windows to make room and shows how much each one gets. To start Windows later, hold the Space bar while the computer switches on.
- Instead of Windows. Everything on the disk is erased.
Tacit installs while Setup asks your name and a password. When it's done, take out the USB stick and restart.
If Setup stops before it has changed your disk, it says so, and your computer starts as it did before.