2/8/2018 Create Bootable USB with Persistence for Kali Linux « Null Byte :: WonderHowTo

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HOW TO

Create Bootable USB with Persistence for Kali Linux

BY OCCUPY4ELES  11/23/2017 9:35 AM

R ecently I was trying to install Kali Live on a USB drive with persistence and struggled to find a tutorial online that was simple and actually
worked. After some trial and error I figured out how to do it correctly and decided to make an article for anyone who is experiencing the same
difficulty I did. You will need an USB with at least 8GB. Mine is 132GB, nice and large.

Step 1

Universal USB Installer

Visit the following link and download the Universal USB Installer:

http://www.pendrivelinux.com/universal-usb-installer-easy-as-1-2-3/

Step 2

Download Latest Edition of Kali Linux

Visit the following link and download the appropriate Kali ISO.

https://www.kali.org/downloads/

Step 3

Create Bootable USB

After Kali is finished downloading, run Universal USB Installer and chose 'Kali Linux' from the list of Linux Distributions to install on your USB
flash drive. You can alternatively chose one of the other distributions listed.

Click 'browse' to navigate through your folders. Under downloads, select the Kali Linux iso file you just finished downloading.

Indicate the drive of your USB and hit 'create'

After the process completes, you will have a live bootable Kali USB drive.

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2/8/2018 Create Bootable USB with Persistence for Kali Linux « Null Byte :: WonderHowTo
Step 4
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Prepare Your Partitions
Use your new USB to boot into the system. You'll most likely have to restart your computer and hit F12 to get into the boot menu where you will
select the brand name of the USB drive you're using. After it loads select 'Live USB Persistence'Go to your applications and select GParted.

This is where it can get confusing because existing references contradict each other and the results depend on what your partitions looked like to
begin with. For me, there were 2 existing partitions that filled up the entire partition space: /dev/sda1 and /dev/sda2. I right clicked on /dev/sda2,
selected resize, and made the partition smaller. This left me with unallocated partition space.

I right clicked the newly created 'unallocated' partition space, selected 'new', selected ext4, and named the partition 'persistence'. I then applied all
changes and closed GParted.

Step 5

Mount
Open your terminal and type the following:

mkdir /mnt/usb

mount /dev/sda2 /mnt/usb <------ replace 'sda2' with the name of your partition. Notice it is NOT the partition I just created and named 'persistence',
it's the one that was already there to begin with and had to resize.

echo "/ union" >> /mnt/usb/persistence.conf

umount /mnt/usb

Step 6

Test
To see if it worked correctly, type 'gedit Kali' then save. Restart your computer and prompt into Kali Live Persistence. Once you're loaded, click on
the folder icon in your dash to dock panel. You should see a file named 'Kali' if everything was set up properly.

Related

HOW TO

Avoid Root Password Reset

on Kali Live USB
HOW TO HOW TO
Persistence Boot
Install Kali Live on a USB Drive (With Kali Is Your New Pet; The Ultimate Guide
Persistence, Optional) About Kali Linux Portability.

12 Comments

CAMERON GLASS
2 YEARS AGO 1  

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2/8/2018 Create Bootable USB with Persistence for Kali Linux « Null Byte :: WonderHowTo

Good tutorial for beginners.

+1
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 REPLY

OCCUPY4ELES
2 YEARS AGO -1 HIDDEN

MATTHEW KRELL PARSONS

2 YEARS AGO -1 HIDDEN

SIMON CT
1 YEAR AGO 1  

same for me. I tried three time with reboot btw each time and can't access my second partition (sdc3 is my usb partition) and if I test "type 'gedit Kali' then save"
when I reboot, the file kali is not there. Somebody can help?

 REPLY

DAY MILOVICH
1 YEAR AGO 1  

friends, you got to determine where is your flashdisk location.

go to Terminal then type this :
fdisk -l
and press Enter. it shows you the location.
cheers! i am indonesian.

 REPLY

JUAN DELEMOS
1 YEAR AGO 1  

I like the post !!!

But in any place over the web, they do not tell how to save changes in the Kali Live USB Persistence, normaly if you have a big USB 32/16 GB going to have place
enough to do this !!!

There is the question: How Can I, save session changes or other changes in the Kali Live USB Persistence ???

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JON PAINTER
12 MONTHS AGO -1 HIDDEN

4
JAMES WILSON  
11 MONTHS AGO

what's missing here is that AFTER you setup the partition, and echo the file to the partition. you need to reboot BEFORE the test. although created the persistence
has not been activated. reboot, select with persistence, THEN do the file testing step. works file if you do that. but funny that no one seems interested in
ENCRYPTED persistence (which is what I use)

 REPLY

CICCIO PASTICCIO
7 MONTHS AGO 1  

Ti voglio bene

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KEETHESH
3 MONTHS AGO -2 HIDDEN

JAUNDRE CHAMBERLAIN
3 MONTHS AGO 1  

Hi i am new to kali linux and need help with live boot.I do not always have internet conection to install scripts again and again every time i reboot my pc.is there
a way to save evrything to usb or anything that saves new scrips.Persistence and dualboot is not an option?
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NICOLAS THOMAS
LAST MONTH 1  

Hi,
I have Linux on a bootable usb but even with persistence nothing i do on kali seems to be saved on the usb.
what would you suggest i should do to fix this

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