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Installing Kairo, step by step.

Six steps from download to licence. Up to and including step 4, nothing changes on your PC – you can stop at any time.

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What you need

  • A USB stick of 4 GB or more. Everything on it will be erased.
  • A Windows PC for the program Rufus – it can be the same one Kairo will run on.
  • The PC for Kairo: 64-bit processor, at least 1 GB of memory, 2 GB recommended. See requirements
  • Internet for the download (1.70 GB). Best keep laptops plugged in.

  1. Step 1: Download the ISO

    On the download page, download the Kairo file. It ends in .iso and is 1.70 GB. It is an image for the USB stick – you don’t need to double-click it.

    For advanced users: with the SHA-256 checksum on the download page you can check that the file is complete.

  2. Step 2: Write the USB stick

    For this you use Rufus, a small, free program for Windows.

    1. Download Rufus from rufus.ie and start it. No need to install it.
    2. Plug in the USB stick. Choose it at the top under “Device”.
    3. Click “SELECT” and choose the Kairo file (.iso).
    4. Leave the other settings as they are. Click “START”. If Rufus asks for the mode, choose “Write in DD Image mode”.
    5. After a few minutes it says “READY” at the bottom. Close Rufus and pull out the stick.

    Careful: everything on the stick is erased. Use an empty stick or back up what’s on it first.

  3. Step 3: Start from the stick

    First: turn off Windows Fast Startup and shut Windows down completely. Otherwise Windows only sleeps and the PC often won’t start from the stick. Here’s how: Control Panel › Power Options › Choose what the power buttons do › click “Change settings that are currently unavailable” › untick “Turn on fast startup” › Save changes. Then use Start › Power › Shut down.

    Plug the stick into the PC Kairo should run on. Then there are two ways:

    Way A: from within Windows

    Open Settings › Update & Security › Recovery. Under “Advanced startup”, click “Restart now”. In the blue menu, choose “Use a device” and then the USB stick.

    “Use a device” only exists on newer PCs (UEFI). If it’s missing, use way B.

    Way B: with the boot key

    Switch the PC off. Switch it on and immediately press the boot key several times until a menu appears. Choose the USB stick there – it is often called “USB” or carries the stick’s name.

    The boot key is often:
    BrandKey
    Dell, LenovoF12
    HPF9
    AsusF8
    AcerF12 or Esc
    MSIF11
    PEAQ, MedionF7, Esc or F11

    If your PC briefly shows a key for the “Boot Menu” when it starts, use that one. On some laptops you need to hold Fn as well.

    When Kairo’s start menu appears, press Enter. Kairo starts shortly afterwards.

  4. Step 4: Test it calmly

    Kairo now runs straight from the stick. Nothing changes on your hard drive, and whatever you try is gone again after switching off.

    • Does the picture look right? Is there sound?
    • Does Kairo find your Wi-Fi? Do the mouse or touchpad work?
    • Under Einstellungen › Geräte und Treiber (Settings › Devices and drivers) you can see what Kairo detected. The self-test there checks sound (with a test tone), brightness, graphics, touchpad and Wi-Fi.
    • Mouse or touchpad too fast or too slow? Einstellungen › Maus und Touchpad (mouse and touchpad): speed, tap to click, natural scrolling.
    • At the bottom, open, say, Web or Text – they sit right next to the round Kairo button, where you find all programs. Every program opens as a window you can minimise, maximise and close. Running programs appear as icons right next to the Kairo button.

    Kairo’s screens are in German for now, and on the stick the keyboard is set to German (Z and Y are swapped). The installer lets you pick your keyboard.

    Don’t like it? Pull out the stick, restart – your PC is as before.

  5. Step 5: Install

    Back up your data first. Copy photos and documents to a second USB stick or an external hard drive. Kairo doesn’t show your Windows files.

    Choose “Kairo installieren” (install Kairo). The installer guides you through – without internet, in 10 to 30 minutes.

    “Erase disk”

    Kairo is the only system on the PC; all data on it is gone afterwards. Kairo asks you once more before it starts. It is only preselected on an empty disk – if the disk already holds data, you choose. If Windows is encrypted with BitLocker, Kairo warns you before you start.

    “Install alongside”

    Windows stays, if there is enough free space. When starting, you then have 5 seconds to choose between Kairo and Windows. Kairo needs at least 10 GB.

    If the installer is shown in German, these options are called “Festplatte löschen” (erase disk) and “Daneben installieren” (install alongside).

    • The user is always called “kairo”. You’ll need the password you choose to unlock later – remember it well.
    • At the end the PC restarts. As soon as the screen goes dark, pull out the USB stick – then Kairo starts from the hard drive.

  6. Step 6: Buy and activate the licence

    Kairo also runs without a licence: all built-in programs, your data and the security updates. For 30 days after installing everything is unlocked; after that, new Kairo versions, new programs and web apps from the app shop and the Fluss and Aura tiers come with the €19 licence (one-time, incl. 20% VAT, for one PC).

    1. Buy the licence in the AUTOMATA shop. You get the licence key by email straight away.
    2. In Kairo, open Einstellungen › Updates und Lizenz (Settings › Updates and licence).
    3. Paste the key from the email. Kairo briefly needs internet for this and links the licence to this PC.

    New Kairo versions then arrive as a system update by themselves – you don’t need to download Kairo again. To check right away: Einstellungen › Updates und Lizenz › Jetzt suchen (check now).

    Reinstalled Kairo later or got a new PC? Write to us at office@automata.at and we’ll release the licence. Important before buying: with the instant key your right of withdrawal ends – more about this under price.

Something isn’t working?

The most common stumbling blocks and what helps. Not listed? Write to us at office@automata.at and tell us which PC you have.

  • Press the boot key several times right after switching on – not only once the Windows logo appears.
  • Use way A from step 3 (“Use a device”). Windows Fast Startup can skip the boot key.
  • Plug the stick directly into the PC, not into a hub, and try another USB port.
  • Write the stick again with Rufus in DD Image mode.
  • On some PCs the USB stick has to be allowed as a boot device, or put first, in the BIOS menu.
  • If Windows comes straight back after you pick the stick, Secure Boot is usually rejecting it – without a message. Some budget laptops do this (we saw it on a PEAQ). Switch Secure Boot off in the BIOS menu, see the next item.

Kairo supports Secure Boot, but not every PC allows it. If your PC reports something like “Secure Boot Violation” or an invalid signature – or simply starts Windows again after you pick the stick – switch Secure Boot off:

  1. Switch the PC off completely (don’t restart).
  2. Switch on and press the BIOS key several times right away (see below).
  3. In the Security or Boot tab: set Secure Boot to Disabled.
  4. Save with F10, then start from the stick again.

Kairo runs just the same without Secure Boot – also after installing. Windows usually starts normally afterwards. Note: if BitLocker or device encryption is on in Windows, Windows will ask once for the recovery key. Note it down first (find it at aka.ms/myrecoverykey with your Microsoft account).

You often get into the BIOS menu with Del, F2 or F10 right after switching on. On newer PCs it also works via Windows: Advanced startup (as in step 3) › Troubleshoot › Advanced options › UEFI Firmware Settings.

  • Give Kairo a minute or two: the first start from the stick can take a while on older PCs.
  • If the interface fails to start several times in a row, Kairo switches to a simpler graphics mode by itself.
  • Or choose it yourself: start from the stick again and, in Kairo’s start menu, use the arrow keys to pick “Kairo (sicherer Grafikmodus)” (safe graphics mode), then Enter. Kairo then draws without any graphics driver – slower, but it works on almost any screen.
  • If it stays black: write the stick again with Rufus in DD Image mode and try another USB port.
  • If that doesn’t help, write to us at office@automata.at with your PC’s make and model (usually on a sticker underneath).

  • You don’t need internet to try and install Kairo.
  • Plug in a network cable if your PC has a socket for it.
  • Or share your phone’s internet via USB: connect the phone with its USB cable and switch on USB tethering on the phone (on Android usually under Settings › Network & internet › Hotspot & tethering; names differ between phones). Many phones then appear like a network cable.
  • Under Einstellungen › Geräte und Treiber (Settings › Devices and drivers) you can see whether Kairo detects your Wi-Fi chip. Send us its name and we’ll take a look.

When running from the USB stick, Kairo uses a German keyboard layout: Z and Y are swapped and some symbols are in other places. When you install Kairo, the installer lets you choose your own keyboard layout.

Ready for the first step?

Download Kairo and try it calmly. If you like it, keep it for €19.

Download for free Buy for €19