PDA

View Full Version : Reliability of Advice at http://docs.kali.org



factgasm
2015-08-09, 10:50
Not wishing to cast doubt needlessly, but I have to wonder how reliable the advice is at http://docs.kali.org, in particular the advice on making a Kali Bootable USB drive at https://forums.kali.org/newthread.php?do=newthread&f=4.

Why? Because the advice is, if you're working from Windows, to use Win32 Disk Imager with the ISO file to create the bootable USB.

What's the problem with this? Win32 Disk Imager works with image files not ISO files. Whoops.

It's not possible to select an ISO file and therefore its not possible for an ISO file and path to appear in the box as shown.

693

This leads me to wonder if the image shown has been faked, ie not a genuine screen shot. (Note that the slash faces the wrong way).

Apologies in advance if I'm talking out of turn, but some clarity would be helpful.

factgasm
2015-08-09, 10:57
Also note the comments at http://docs.kali.org/downloading/kali-linux-live-usb-persistence under the section titled "Adding USB Persistence with LUKS Encryption".

Point 1 says "Image the latest Kali Linux ISO (currently v1.0.9a) to your USB drive as described in this article."

Point 2 includes the code "read start _ < <(du -bcm kali-linux-1.0.8-amd64.iso | tail -1); echo $start parted /dev/sdb mkpart primary $start "

As of the date of this post, the Kali Linux ISO version number is 1.1.0a so for a noob working in complete isolation these errors & inconsistencies would be confusing. Please rectify.

mmusket33
2015-08-09, 13:27
To factgasm,

This is an older thread but using Wind32 disk Imager makes usb live installs very nicely. We made two last week for kali-linux1.10a. Open Wind32 then click on the browse folder. Next click on the down arrow next to the *img and change it to *.* and all files in the folder will be seen. Select your .iso file and sit back and have some coffee.

Just make sure your Wind32 is working on your flashdrive and not your harddrive.

We got Luks working but it tended to be slow and hang so we stopped using it. But we only use 32 bit installs

See

https://forums.kali.org/showthread.php?22166-Making-a-Persistent-usb-flash-drive-with-kali-linux-1-08

MTeams

factgasm
2015-08-09, 23:35
Tried that before I posted, here's the result:

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/461/20447304731_2dfaec3f49_z.jpg

My Win32Disk Imager is v0.9.5, which I believe is the latest version.

In Windows Explorer I went to the ISO file's properties, unchecked Read Only, then ran Win32DiskImager again. It made good progress up to the point where it reported the error:

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/319/20433187112_0a3eb8e855.jpg

What should the format for the USB stick be? FAT, FAT32, NTFS, EXT2, EXT3? I have been formatting the stick as NTFS. If this is wrong please say.

I also tried an alternative to Win32DiskImager, named ISO to USB. While this coped with the ISO first time, on attempting to boot from the USB stick I got the error message 'infolinux.bin missing or corrupt'. Whether this is an error caused by ISO to USB or something else, I just don't know. I suspect that there is a file missing from within the ISO file itself.

I have verified the ISO file's sha1 checksum, there are no problems there, hence it must have downloaded correctly to my machine.

A quick check of the USB stick using AOMEI Partition Assistant reveals no bad sectors.

Update:

Instead of trying to burn 1.1.0a to USB, I used exactly the same procedure to burn 1.0.9a. Hey presto, worked first time - ergo there is definitely a problem with the 1.1.0a ISO file.

mmusket33
2015-08-10, 02:43
We do not see things as right or wrong - it is more a matter of just working thru the problems you encounter.

First you are using the amd version

If you obtained it thru direct download try obtaining it thru torrents. We have had problems with kali-linux files obtained thru direct download in the past.


MTeams use XP only. We only use kali-linux 32 bit i386 and Win32Disk Imager is v0.8. We usually format to Fat32 but if it is the wrong format like ext3 Win32Disk writes to it. Try loading the 32 bit -386 version onto the flash drive and running it and see what happens. If the live version works you can then setup the persistence. We see comments about 64bit application problems in these forums but do not follow them.

We suggest you load kali onto your Harddrive as a dual boot once you get a live version on a flashdrive working. We can talk you thru what we know. With XP we can install kali-linux - then remove and reinstall a newer version easily in less then 40 minutes. For us the XP/kali-linux combo is trouble free and easy to setup. XP allows real mac spoofing and gives us the tools we need to get what we require done.

In closing if you wish to continue with the 64 bit version we hope another forum member who has encountered your problems may take the time to help you.

MTeams

factgasm
2015-08-10, 08:58
All done. Cheers.