How do I tell Kali Linux on USB to boot up with the latest image?

I'm on a 64bit Sager Laptop running Kali Linux off a USB. The Kali Linux image was written onto the usb using win32 disk image. I set up persistence using ext4.
I've run all the usual code for updates and upgrades. I've tried deleting old kernels, updating repos, updating grub, xorg, etc. Nothing so far has worked.
I don’t know how to do the logs properly, but if they’re needed then I’ll figure it out.
I also don’t know whether this question should be posted to the “Installing Kali Linux” section of the forum.
The only thing that I haven't done yet is build a kernel and install it, and then remove all previous kernels. I'm not sure if this will work but it's my last option.
I'd like to see if anyone can help me before I spend even more time doing something that may not work.
My ultimate goal is to install NVIDIA drivers, which can't happen until I solve my kernel/linux image issue.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.

uname -r gives me:
4.3.0-kali1-amd64

Yet when I do:
sudo apt-get install linux-image-4.5.0-kali1-amd64

I get:
linux-image-4.5.0-kali1-amd64 is already the newest version (4.5.3-2kali1).

And when I do this:
sudo apt-get install linux-image-amd64

I get:
linux-image-amd64 is already the newest version (4.5+73+kali1).

I'm assuming that I have the 4.5.0 image already installed or downloaded, and it's just not switching to it from 4.3.0

How do I tell Kali to boot up with the latest image instead of 4.3.0?

Is your USB setup to store changes or is it acting as a live CD? If the later, any changes would be gone upon system shutdown.

First off, make a backup if you have any important changes to the system.

apt-get dist-upgrade and grab some coffee, it'll take awhile.
reboot
check your version again with uname -r

If you have any trouble, then report back and I'll see if I can help!

Thanks for the reply. I'm pretty sure my USB is set up to store changes. I had an issue right after creating the persistence partition. But my desktop files were there after the 2nd reboot. I only had to copy them over to the desktop twice before they stayed there.

I've done apt-get dist-upgrade about 15 times now, and have checked my version afterwards, and nothing changes.

Make sure you have the correct repository for rolling updates in /etc/apt/sources.list

If you've added 3rd party repos, consider commenting them out temporarily.

Current Kali repository: http://docs.kali.org/general-use/kal...t-repositories

I'm guessing you did a reboot after apt-get dist-upgrade? Changes won't take effect until you reboot - though I imagine you've turned the system off and on a couple times by now.

You mention that you added a persistence partition - since your desktop files are sticking around it sounds like it works. How large is the partition? Maybe the upgrade is larger than your storage space?

Did you run apt-get update && apt-get upgrade after the dist-upgrade?
Are you getting any sort of error when you run updates or is everything successful?

I've tried with the correct sources and with 7 additional sources, neither make any difference. I don't reboot but I do shut down. Rebooting never seems to work. It just goes to a black Kali code screen where I can't type any code. My Persistence partition is about 54GB large.
The order of my update code that I've run multiple times is: update > upgrade > dist-upgrade
I don't get any errors when I run this code. It says 0 need to be installed, 0 need to be updated, etc.

When the system first boots, choose advanced options. Can you see kernel 4.5 in there?

Did you first run apt-get install linux-image-4.5.0-kali1-amd64 and then dist-upgrade?
I just used update/upgrade and then dist-upgrade to move from 4.3 to 4.5

May be worthwhile to remove/purge image4.5 and try the update again.
sudo apt-get remove --purge linux-image-4.5.0-kali1-amd64
then do regular update/upgrade and try the dist-upgrade again. If dist-upgrade has something to upgrade, reboot after that see what you have.

You may also want to try running
apt-get clean
and then run your update/dist-upgrade

The way that I boot into Kali is that I push F7 while my computer is first booting, and I tell it to boot from my USB. After that I'm taken to a Kali boot menu that has this list of options:
Live amd64
Live amd64 failsafe
Live forensic mode
Live USB persistence
Live USB encrypted persistence
Install
Graphical Install
Install with speech synthesis
Advanced Options
---Underneath this I have:
Hardware Detection tool (HDT)
Memory Diagnostic Tool (memtest86+)

I always select Live USB Persistence when booting into Kali and I've never seen any option for a different kernel under Advanced Options.
I first ran update, upgrade, dist-upgrade before I tried to install linux-image-4.5.0-kali1-amd64.
I've tried starting over from a fresh Kali Linux image about 6 times now. I always run update, upgrade, dist-upgrade before I do anything else, well after persistence anyway. And my kernel always stays the same, at 4.3.0.

Hello again, sorry for the late reply! I've been pretty busy with work and it slipped my mind. I'll try to keep an eye out here today so hopefully you don't have to wait so long. As it is I'm running out of ideas though, but one thing did cross my mind:

The only thing I did different on my upgrade was install the 4.5 headers, but I don't think that would be necessary but I've been wrong before!
Maybe give that a try and see if it makes a difference: apt-get install linux-headers-4.5.0-kali1-common (use tab completion so you don't have to type all that mess)

I went back through your older posts to see if I missed anything, you mention that Kali is unable to reboot and hangs on a black screen. I'm wondering if there is some issue with the tool you're using to format Kali with. Odd that everything else would work fine though...

Did you try running my last suggestion of apt-get clean followed by apt-get update and then apt-get dist-upgrade?

Running apt-get clean should clear out the local repository and let you redo your dist-upgrade.

I talked with a friend and found your problem! Since you are running a live USB with persistence, this means that the OS is still acting as though it is running on a live CD. Although you can save files and things like that, it might not necessarily be saving all or any of the changes to the actual operating system. It also has a higher chance of encountering kernel conflicts, and as I understand something about the way the GRUB configuration works means that changes won't be recognized by GRUB.

In short - you are stuck with the kernel version of the existing .iso on your USB drive. My friend also recommended against making changes to Kali's drivers for use of your graphics card. Are you intending to play games, or use the GPU power for things like password cracking? If the later, apparently there are generic drivers in the repo that will do what you need. If the former, you should really be gaming on something else, as the Kali OS wasn't really intended for that sort of thing and you're making more work for yourself.

I'd recommend dual booting if that is a possibility. Alternatively you can install Kali in Virtual Box or something similar.

I've solved my problem! - kind of.
I looked around some more and found someone who said that the kernel doesn't update properly when kali linux is on USB. So I went the dual boot route and was able to update my kernel without a problem. I just saw your reply and it seems we've both come to the same conclusion :)
Installing NVIDIA drivers has been an issue for me because I have Optimus, but I think I've managed to do that as well. It is for password cracking.
Thanks again for your help prividyenie.

Awesome! I'm glad you got it working. I'm always happy to help, have fun!

Sorry this is a little late. I'm having the same problem. I think the issue is that one has to build a custom iso: http://docs.kali.org/development/liv...ustom-kali-iso

I'm also trying to use usb persistence. But I think the issue update upgrading on the live image is that persistence doesn't get included until part way into the boot process. By then the kernel is already loaded as are many of the drivers. The base live partition needs to be updated.

I'll give this a try tomorrow and see if I can get it upgraded. Not quite "rolling" but it's a limitation of a live image.