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View Full Version : Trouble installing Kali, linux on EXTERNAL HARD DRIVE



S373N
2013-03-21, 04:20
I have tried installing Kali, linux multiple times on my External HDD. I previously had Backtrack 5r3 on my 500GB External HDD and removed it to install Kali amd64 onto it. I have tried 3 times to install Kali on the External HDD and instead it whipes out my internal desktop HD every time. I have made sure my external is the right format, and i also manually partitioned the hard disks each time i tried to install. I double checked each time and made sure i had the swap and ext/4 correct each time and i had the external hdd selected and partitioned correctly. What could i possibly be doing wrong? i also made sure the amd64 iso that i downloaded from the kali download site is valid, i verified the sha1sum and everything. I have successfully installed the same iso onto my desktop and it runs great, however i would much rather it be on my external hdd so i can take it on the go and boot up wherever. Any ideas + tips would be of great help!! Thanks!

charonsecurity
2013-03-24, 15:26
All I can recommend is disconnect your main Hard Drive, and then reconnect it after you finish the install.

maverik35
2013-03-25, 04:31
Please, be more specific as to what you do (steps) and where exactly you have your issue.

By the way, it is not MD5, it is sha1sum...

S373N
2013-03-25, 05:27
Ha ha yea you're right. i actually just thought i had sha1sum in the Ctrl+v memory, my mistake.

I will edit the post with detailed steps.

S373N
2013-03-25, 05:31
Thanks man, i disconnected the SaTa from the internal and that did the trick. Somehow the install was getting split between the internal and external and the Grub was getting put onto the external. I still havent figured out why. I also tried auto partition as well as the manual partition but i got the same error. Anyways thanks again.

maverik35
2013-03-25, 14:13
Good thing you fix your issue.

But still don't know how can Debian Installer mix partitions and drives when installing...I've done it with my wheezy few times and never had that issue, though...

Luck.

kpoeticg
2013-03-28, 07:47
I could be wrong but from the way you explained it, it sounds like you're having an issue with the way you're installing the GRUB bootloader. Check out this thread...http://forums.kali.org/showthread.php?325-Don-t-be-a-dummy-like-me-%28GRUB-Problem-%28already-fixed!%29%29


When installing a dual-boot with Windows 7, the grub installer recognizes it as a Vista bootloader. When you choose Vista from the grub menu it will boot into your Windows 7 install. If you're not paying attention and install the grub bootloader to your MBR during an external HD install then you will need to have that same external HD connected when you want to boot back into Windows. Once you get back into windows you can use EasyBCD or any similar program to reconfigure your Master Boot Record so you can choose between your Windows Bootloader and GRUB when you power on your computer.

minjazc
2014-06-30, 23:04
The easiest way to install Kali on external HDD is to leave unallocated memory and use guided install. Then install GRUB bootloader,boot Windows with console and fix mbr with
bootrec /fixmbr typed in console.