Step by Step Guide – How to Install Kali

Linux 2017.1 and VMware Tools in VMware

Workstation 12 Pro

The latest version of Kali Linux 2017.1 has been released. In this blog post I will show you how
to install Kali Linux 2017 in VMware Workstation 12.5.

Installation of Kali Linux in VMware 12 has not changed. Its the same as Installing Kali Linux
2016 in VMware 12. Please refer to my post on how to install Kali Linux 2016 in VMware 12 if
you are interested in Kali Linux 2016. To install Kali Linux 2017, please follow the post

There are issues in getting the Kali Linux to display in full screen mode, most notably in getting
the 1920×1080 resolution. Will fix that also. I have a YouTube video(screens cast) for the whole
process. If you want you can directly watch the video. Rest of the blog is the step by step
description of the whole process. So lets get started.

Step 1 – Download Kali Linux ISO image

To install the Kali Linux, we will have to first get the installer ISO image file. You can get it by
visiting the official download page. Please download the 64 bit or 32 bit image depending on the
system you have. Dont get confused by the many options available such as Kali Linux 64 bit
Mate or Kali Linux 64 bit Xfce. They are all the same except for the desktop environment.
LXDE, Mate, Xfce are various open source desktop environments. I use the first image Kali
Linux 64 bit, but the choice is yours. It does not really matter.

Just remember that Kali Linux 64 bit Light is the minimal distribution which will not contain all
the features. You will have to install the tools you want later on. There is also an option to
download the VMware image directly. But I prefer to create my own Virtual Machine which has
all the tools installed, which this blog is all about. Since the file size is large, around 3 GB, I
prefer to download via torrent because it is fast and flexible.
Kali Linux official download webpage screenshot.

Step 2 – Locate the downloaded file

You can find the downloaded image file in the downloads folder, if you have not changed the
default settings. The filename would be something like kali-linux-2017.1-amd64.iso. If you have
downloaded through torrent, the ISO file will be downloaded in a folder, folder name would be
something like kali-linux-2017.1-amd64.

Step 3 – Open VMware Workstation 12

Lets start the installation process. Open VMware Workstation. If you don’t have it installed
already, please visit my page.

Step 4 – Launch VMware Workstation New Virtual

Machine installation wizard.
You can launch this by clicking Create New Virtual Machine button on the home screen or go to
menu File -> New Virtual Machine. The keyboard shortcut is Ctrl + N on Windows. VMware
workstation supports tab view, which is, all the virtual machines running or stopped will show up
in its own tab until you close them by clicking X on the tab itself. It’s the same as you see in the
browsers where webpages open in separate tabs rather then separate windows. In software
development terms, this is commonly referred to as the tabbed interface.
Vmware Workstation 12 home tab screenshot.

Step 5- Welcome to the new Virtual Machine Wizard dialog

box appears
This is where you get a chance to select the way virtual machine will be created. Typical is
predefined or mostly the defaults. Custom is where you get to set advanced options such as
compatibility with older Virtual Machines, SCSI controller type, etc. We will go with the default
options. Select Typical and click Next.

Vmware workstation 12 new virtual machine setup wizard screenshot

Step 6- Select installation media or source
In this dialog box you will have to browse to the downloaded ISO file and click next. Generally,
VMware Workstation detects the OS automatically and initiates what they call as the Easy
Install. But in the case of Kali Linux this is not the case and you will see a warning(yellow
triangle). Please ignore that and click next to continue.

VMware Workstation 12 select installer disc image file dialogbox screenshot

Step 7- Select Guest Operating System

In this dialog box, you will be asked to select the Guest Operating System. Select Guest
operating system as Linux and Version as Debian 8.x 64-bit or 32 bit depending on your system.

VMware Workstation 12 select guest operating system dialog box screenshot

Step 8- Select Guest Operating System

In this dialog box, you will be asked to provide the name of the virtual machine. You can provide
any name you like. You can also change the location of the virtual machine. Bu default is place
in the Documents/Virtual Machine folder. Leaving it as the default is also fine.
VMware Workstation 12 – Set virtual machine name and location dialog box screenshot

Step 9- Specify disk capacity

This dialog box asks you to specify the disk capacity. This is the maximum amount of disk space
it will utilize once the Virtual Machine is created. You can leave it to the default but if you are
running low on disk space, you can reduce it to 20 GB. This is generally sufficient if you are not
planning to install heavy disk using software’s such as Photoshop. Such software’s reduce the
performance of your Virtual Machine if your Computer is not powerful enough.

Check Split Virtual Disk into multiple files. This is the default option. Say if you specify 60 GB,
all of 60 GB will not be utilized or say 60 GB will not be blocked at once. These Virtual Disks
expand according to the usage with a Maximum size you specifed as the disk capacity. On a
fresh install normally it takes 10 GB of space which will grow according to the software’s you
install in the VM.

VMware Workstation specify disk capacity dialog box Screenshot

Step 10- Ready to create Virtual Machine Dialog Box

This is the final dialog box and what you see is all the options you have selected in previous
dialog boxes. You will also see Memory, Network Adapter and Other Devices. They are the
defaults. If you wish to change them, click on Customize Hardware. You can leave them as
defaults for now, they can be changed later on also once the Virtual Machine is created.
VMware Workstation ready to create virtual machine hardware settings dialog box screenshot.

Step 11 – Power on Virtual Machine

Now you will have to power on the virtual machine to start the process. You can see the option
to power on the VM on top left hand side.
VMware Workstation Power on Virtual machine dialog box screenshot

Step 12 – Select Graphical Install from Boot Menu

Here you will see many options. Select Graphical Install using the down arrow key and click
continue.
Kali linux installation boot menu screenshot

Step 13 – Select a Language

In this dialog box you will be asked to select a language. Please select a language and continue.
This option sets your language in the Kali Linux Operating system. Default is English.
Install Kali Linux 2017 in VMware Workstation 12- Select a Language Screenshot

Step 14 – Select Location

In this dialog box you will be asked to select a Location. Please select a location and continue.
This option sets your Location in the Kali Linux Operating system. later on, you will be able to
set the time zone based on the location you choose here.
Install Kali Linux 2017 in VMware Workstation 12- Select Location Screenshot

Step 15 – Configure the Keyboard

In this dialog box you will be asked to select the keyboard layout. Please select a Keyboard
layout using the arrow keys and click continue. This option sets your Keyboard in the Kali Linux
Operating system. By default it is set to American English.
Install Kali Linux 2017 in VMware Workstation 12- Configure keyboard Screenshot

After you click continue, you will see the installation progresses for some them you see the
Network Configuration dialog box, which is the next step.
Install Kali Linux 2017 in VMware Workstation 12- Installation progress Screenshot

Step 16 – Configure the Network – Enter Hostname

In this dialog box you will be asked to enter the hostname for your system. This being a home
network, we can set anything. Enter any anything and click continue.
Install Kali Linux 2017 in VMware Workstation 12- Configure the Network Screenshot

Step 17 – Configure the Network – Enter domain name

In this dialog box you will be asked to enter the domain name for your system. This being a
home network, we can set anything like example.com
Install Kali Linux 2017 in VMware Workstation 12- Configure the Network- Enter Domain
Name Screenshot

Step 18 – Set password for User root

In this dialog box you will be asked to enter the password for the root user account. Please enter
a password of your choice and click continue.
Install Kali Linux 2017 in VMware Workstation 12- Set up Users and Password Screenshot

Step 19 – Enter Username for your account

In this dialog box you will be asked to enter the username for the account. Please enter a
username of your choice and click continue.
You will have to enter User name in two different dialog box, similar to shown in the below
screenshot
Install Kali Linux 2017 in VMware Workstation 12- Set up Users Name Screenshot

Step 20 – Enter Password for your the user account

In this dialog box you will be asked to enter the password for the user account you created in the
last step. Please enter a password of your choice and click continue.
Install Kali Linux 2017 in VMware Workstation 12- Set up Users and Password Screenshot

Step 21 – Configure Clock

In this dialog box you will be asked to time zone based on the location you selected earlier.
Please enter a time zone of your choice and click continue.
Install Kali Linux 2017 in VMware Workstation 12- Configure Clock Screenshot

Step 22 – Partition Disk

In this dialog box you are asked how you would like to partition your disk. Select Guided – Use
entire disk and click continue. This is the default option.
Install Kali Linux 2017 in VMware Workstation 12- Partition Disk Screenshot

In this dialog box you are asked to select a disk to partition. Select sda, VMware Virtual disk.
There should be only one option. Click Continue.
Install Kali Linux 2017 in VMware Workstation 12- Select Disk to Partition Screenshot

Step 23 – Select partition scheme

In this dialog box you are asked to select a scheme for disk partition. Select the default, All files
in one partition and click Continue.
Install Kali Linux 2017 in VMware Workstation 12- Disk Partitioning Scheme Screenshot

Step 24 Disk partition Overview

In this dialog box you are see the summary of your disk partition. Select the Finish Partitioning
and Write changes to disk which should be selected by default. All you have to do is to click
continue.
Install Kali Linux 2017 in VMware Workstation 12- Disk Partition Overview Screenshot

Step 25 – Disk partition Confirmation

In this dialog you are asked to confirm Write changes to disk. Select yes and click continue.
Install Kali Linux 2017 in VMware Workstation 12- Disk Partition Confirmation Screenshot

Step 26 – Installation starts

Now the actual installation starts. Wait for Configure the Package Manager Dialog box to
appear.

Step 27 – Configure the package manager

In this dialog box you will ask if you wish to configure network mirror for Package manager.
Choose yes and continue. You canskip this by selecting NO. But the default option Yes is better.
Install Kali Linux 2017 in VMware Workstation 12- Configure the Package Manager Screenshot

Step 28 – Configure the package manager – HTTP Proxy

In this dialog box you will ask if you wish to HTTP proxy. Leave it blank and click continue.
Install Kali Linux 2017 in VMware Workstation 12- Configure the Package Manager – HTTP
proxy Screenshot

Step 29 – Install GRUB boot loader

In this dialog box you will be asked if you would like to install the GRUB boot loader. Select
Yes and click Continue.
Install Kali Linux 2017 in VMware Workstation 12- Install GRUB Boot Loader Screenshot

Step 30 – Select device for GRUB boot loader Installation

In this dialog box you will be asked to select boot loader device for GRUB installation. Select
/dev/sda and click Continue.
Install Kali Linux 2017 in VMware Workstation 12- Select GRUB Boot Loader Device
Screenshot

Step 31 – Installation Complete

Installation will continue and now you will see Installation complete dialog box. Click continue
to finalize the installation and wait for the VM to reboot. After reboot you will see the login
screen. Login with your username or root user and provide your password. You will then see the
Kali Linux desktop.
Install Kali Linux 2017 in VMware Workstation 12- Installation Complete Screenshot
Kali Linux login screen dialog box screenshot

Step 32 – Switching to Full screen mode

After login, if you want to switch to full screen mode, you wont be able to. What you will see is
the resolution of 800×600 which is the default resolution. This is because, VMware tools are not
installed. Please follow the below steps to install VMware tools. After the installation and reboot,
you will be able to see the desktop with resolution same as your computer.
Kali Linux desktop VMware no full screen – Resolution 800×600

Step 33 – Install VMware Tools

To install the VMware tools, follow the below steps.

If you don’t have internet connection, you can install VMware tools directly from the VM.
If you have internet connection, follow the next instruction which is easier.

1. Goto VM-> Install VMware Tools

2. You will see VMware tools Icon on the desktop. If you don’t, then Places->VMwre
Tools. Double click to open.
 3. Copy the file with the file name something like this VMware-tools….tar.gz to the
desktop.
4. Right click on this file on the desktop and click Extract here. You will see that the file is
extracted to the folder vmware-tools-distrib.
5. Open terminal by going to System Tools -> terminal
6. Goto the folder vmware-tools-distrib on desktop by entering the command cd
/Desktop/vmware-tools-distrib
7. Now run this command:

sudo ./vmware-install.pl -d

8. Enter your password and press Enter. You will be asked if you want to proceed with the
legacy installer. Enter Y and press Enter.
9. Now you will be asked series of questions, just accept the default by pressing Enter for
all and wait for the installation to complete.
10. Wait for the installation to complete. You will see more prompts, except the defaults by
clicking enter. Once completed, restart your VM by going to VM->Power->Restart Guest
11. Once the system restarts, you will be prompted to login. Once you login, you can see the
desktop in full screen mode which stretches up to the complete screen.

If you have internet connection, try this

1. Open Terminal
2. Execute the command

sudo apt-get install open-vm-tools-desktop fuse

3. Enter your password

4. Wait for the process to complete and restart. You are done. Login and now you will see
the desktop in full screen mode

You can check the version of installed VMware Tools. In terminal, execute the command

vmware-toolbox-cmd -v

. This will show you the version number.

Process Complete
You are done, You can start working on Kali Linux 2017. Thanks for Visiting my blog.
Kali Linux desktop screenshot

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