11/12/2014 Dual Boot Kali with Windows | Kali Linux Official Documentation

http://docs.kali.org/installation/dual-boot-kali-with-windows 1/5

January 24, 2013

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Dual Boot Kali withWindows

Kali Linux Dual Boot withWindows

Installing Kali alongside a Windows installation can be quite

useful. However, you need to exercise caution during the

setup process. First, make sure that you’ve backed up any

important data on your Windows installation. Since you’ll

be modifying your hard drive, you’ll want to store this

backup on external media. Once you’ve completed the

backup, we recommend you peruse Kali Linux Hard Disk

Install, which explains the normal procedure for a basic Kali

install.

In our example, we will be installing Kali Linux alongside an

installation of Windows 7, which is currently taking up

100% of the disk space in our computer. We will start by

resizing our current Windows partition to occupy less space

and then proceed to install Kali Linux in the newly-created

00. Introduction to Kali

Linux

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Linux

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Installs

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11/12/2014 Dual Boot Kali with Windows | Kali Linux Official Documentation

http://docs.kali.org/installation/dual-boot-kali-with-windows 2/5

empty partition.

Download Kali Linux and either burn the ISO to DVD, or

prepare a USB stick with Kali linux Live as the installation

medium. If you do not have a DVD or USB port on your

computer, check out the Kali Linux Network Install. Ensure

you have:

Minimum of 8 GB free disk space on Windows

CD-DVD / USB boot support

Preparing for the Installation

1. Download Kali Linux.

2. Burn The Kali Linux ISO to DVD or copy Kali Linux

Live to USB.

3. Ensure that your computer is set to boot from CD /

USB in your BIOS.

Dual Boot Installation Procedure

1. To start your installation, boot with your chosen

installation medium. You should be greeted with the

Kali Boot screen. Select Live, and you should be

booted into the Kali Linux default desktop.

2. Now launch the gparted program. We’ll use

gparted to shrink the existing Windows partition to

give us enough room to install Kali Linux.

3. Select your Windows partition. Depending on your

system, it will usually be the second, larger

partition. In our example, there are two partitions;

the first is the System Recovery partition, and

Windows is actually installed in /dev/sda2. Resize

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Dual Boot Kali on

Mac Hardware

Single Boot Kali on

Mac Hardware

Install Kali HP ARM

Chromebook

Kali Linux Live USB

Persistence

Install Kali ARM on

an EfikaMX

Kali ARM on a

Beaglebone Black

Install Kali ARM on

a CuBox

Kali Linux

sources.list

Repositories

Install NVIDIA

Drivers on Kali

11/12/2014 Dual Boot Kali with Windows | Kali Linux Official Documentation

http://docs.kali.org/installation/dual-boot-kali-with-windows 3/5

your Windows partition and leave enough space

(8GB minimum) for the Kali installation.

4. Once you have resized your Windows partition,

ensure you “Apply All Operations” on the hard disk.

Exit gparted and reboot.

Kali Linux Installation Procedure

1. The installation procedure from this point onwards

is similar to a Kali Linux Hard Disk install, until the

point of the partitioning, where you need to select

“Guided – use the largest continuous free space”

that you created earlier with gparted.

Kali Linux on

Galaxy Note 10.1

11/12/2014 Dual Boot Kali with Windows | Kali Linux Official Documentation

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2. Once the installation is done, reboot. You should be

greeted with a GRUB boot menu, which will allow

you to boot either into Kali or Windows.

Post Installation

Now that you’ve completed installing Kali Linux, it’s time to

customize your system. The Kali General Use section of our

site has more information and you can also find tips on

how to get the most out of Kali in our User Forums.

11/12/2014 Dual Boot Kali with Windows | Kali Linux Official Documentation

http://docs.kali.org/installation/dual-boot-kali-with-windows 5/5

Dual Boot Kali on Mac

Hardware

Single Boot Kali on Mac

Hardware

Kali Linux Live USB

Persistence

Kali Linux Hard Disk Install

Kali Linux Live USB Install

Troubleshooting a Kali

Installation

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