[Solved] Boot from Debian USB with Kali installed...

[kalimacdaddy]

I have a brand new Lonovo Ideapad 110 (Windows 10 Home edition) and I was looking to install Ubuntu, but could not get it to install, so I tried to install Kali Linux (as I already had a USB boot for it to use with VM) and that worked fine.

Because the Kali install worked, I figured I should be able to install Debian OK, however, I can't seem to get the USB to boot past Kali. When it first boots, it goes to the Kali screen and I choose Settings. This takes me into the BIOS settings and I have put the USB to the very top of the boot cycle and enabled Legacy mode (based on things I have read online for installing linux, it's required on this unit). I even moved Kali to the very bottom...

Even with the boot priority having USB first, the machine will not boot off the Debian installer I made. I've tried twice now, once with downloaded ISO and once with Selected Installer (both were created with unetbootin, as was the Kali installer that worked initially)

Any help would be appreciated. Bit of a newb, but trying to learn!

[milomak]

what is the debian installer you downloaded? (supply link)

how did you burn the iso to usb?

[kalimacdaddy]

I used the CD ISO as I have a 2GB USB stick that I got from this URL.
https://cdimage.debian.org/debian-cd/cu ... 64/iso-cd/

I used unetbootin to create the USB sticks.

This was the setting for Selecting the distribution right in the app as well: screenshot
https://www.dropbox.com/s/vmxryjr3trgiz ... .49.43.png

[Bulkley]

Bit of a newb, but trying to learn!

As the distribution’s developers, you might expect us to recommend that everyone should be using Kali Linux. The fact of the matter is, however, that Kali is a Linux distribution specifically geared towards professional penetration testers and security specialists, and given its unique nature, it is NOT a recommended distribution if you’re unfamiliar with Linux or are looking for a general-purpose Linux desktop distribution for development, web design, gaming, etc.

Should I Use Kali Linux?

The best way to use Kali is on a Bootable USB Drive.

I've been using Debian for nearly 20 years and still find Kali over my head.

[kalimacdaddy]

The best way to use Kali is on a Bootable USB Drive.

I would love to do this, but I need to be able to install Debian over what is already there before I can do anything else!

[GarryRicketson]

I used unetbootin to create the USB sticks.

Unetbootin will not work for Debain, and is not recommended.

How to put a Debian install image on a usb stick
===========
From first hit:
https://www.debian.org/releases/stable/ ... 03.html.en

Important

The image must be written to the whole-disk device and not a partition, e.g. /dev/sdb and not /dev/sdb1. Do not use tools like unetbootin which alter the image.

===== edited ====
Additional note:
I don't use the method they show, there.

Code: Select all

 # cp debian.iso /dev/sdX
# sync

I use the 'dd' command, it never fails.
Details:

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man dd 

https://www.debian.org/CD/faq/#write-usb

[Bulkley]

unetbootin has problems. Try Etcher.

[milomak]

yep, you need to do something like

dd if=/path/to/iso of=dev/sdX bs=4096

be careful with of= because that will wipe that drive

so i just downloaded a live iso. put the usb into the computer. checked with dmesg (i previously used it for windows so ignore the errors. the key thing is that it tells me it is /dev/sdd)

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[ 3676.332967] scsi 3:0:0:0: Direct-Access     TOSHIBA  TransMemory      1.00 PQ: 0 ANSI: 4
[ 3676.333924] sd 3:0:0:0: Attached scsi generic sg3 type 0
[ 3676.334148] sd 3:0:0:0: [sdd] 30310400 512-byte logical blocks: (15.5 GB/14.5 GiB)
[ 3676.334461] sd 3:0:0:0: [sdd] Write Protect is off
[ 3676.334465] sd 3:0:0:0: [sdd] Mode Sense: 45 00 00 00
[ 3676.334675] sd 3:0:0:0: [sdd] Write cache: disabled, read cache: enabled, doesn't support DPO or FUA
[ 3676.337994] sd 3:0:0:0: [sdd] Attached SCSI removable disk
[ 3676.524081] UDF-fs: warning (device sdd): udf_load_vrs: No anchor found
[ 3676.524083] UDF-fs: Scanning with blocksize 512 failed
[ 3676.537133] UDF-fs: warning (device sdd): udf_load_vrs: No anchor found
[ 3676.537134] UDF-fs: Scanning with blocksize 1024 failed
[ 3676.554410] UDF-fs: warning (device sdd): udf_load_vrs: No anchor found
[ 3676.554413] UDF-fs: Scanning with blocksize 512 failed
[ 3676.568909] UDF-fs: warning (device sdd): udf_load_vrs: No anchor found
[ 3676.568912] UDF-fs: Scanning with blocksize 1024 failed
[ 3676.575494] UDF-fs: INFO Mounting volume 'UDF Volume', timestamp 2016/02/13 20:35 (1078)

then i ran

Code: Select all

dd if=/mnt/win/Downloads/debian-live-9.0.1-amd64-cinnamon.iso of=/dev/sdd bs=4096

obviously if being where the iso is located

[kalimacdaddy]

Unetbootin will not work for Debain, and is not recommended.

I re-created the image using DD, booting no problem now. Thanks for the advice!