How to Install Kali Linux 2016.2 & VMware Tools in VMware Workstation 12 (Full Guide)

Hello Friends., In this post I will show you how to install Kali Linux 2016.2 in VMware Workstation 12 pro.There are issues in getting the Kali Linux to display in full screen mode, most notably in getting the 1920×1080 resolution. for that we'll install VMware tools in Kali it Will fix that also.

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.

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-2016.2-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-2016.2-amd64.

Step 3 – Open VMware Workstation 12

Lets start the installation process. Open VMware Workstation. If you don’t have it installed already, Click Here.

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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.

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.

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.

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 7.x 64-bit or 32 bit depending on your system. Please do not select Debian 8. In Debian 8, I realized that I was not able to get Kali Linux to work in full screen mode.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Step 12 – 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.

Step 13 – 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.

Step 14 – 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.

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.

Step 15 – Configure the Network – Enter hostmane

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.

Step 16 – 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

Step 17 – 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.

Step 18 – 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.

Step 19 – 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.

Step 20 – 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.

Step 21 – 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.

Step 22 – Select disk to partition

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.

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.

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.

Step 25 – Disk partition Confirmation

In this dialog you are asked to confirm Write changes to disk. Select yes and click continue.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Step 31 – Select device for GRUB boot loader Installation

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.

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.

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. 
11. Once completed, restart your VM by going to VM->Power->Restart Guest
12. 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.
13. Open Terminal
14. Execute the command : sudo apt-get install open-vm-tools-desktop fuse
15. Enter your password
16. Wait for the process to complete and restart. You are done. Login and now you will see the desktop in full screen mode

If you have internet connection, try this :

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 !!! Now You Can Start Working on Kali Linux 2016.2.!!!

Please feel free to contact me if you need any Help & don't hesitate to comment below if you have any questions...

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