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I have a macbook and i would like to normally install kali linux on a usb stick (as a second partition), but i have some question:

1) Can i use a usb stick like this? http://usb.userbenchmark.com/SanDisk-Ultra-Fit-USB-30-64GB/Rating/2698

2) Can i install it without touching the osx boot? (i need to boot from usb just sometimes by pressing alt button on boot)

3) If i do a normal install, how can i make it work without screwing the osx boot?

4) Do i need to install grub on sdb (usb stick)?

5) Do i run any risk by doing that?

Thank you in advance.

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I've a very few experience on Mac computers, however, assuming that your MacBook is an Intel MacBook I suggest you follow the instructions in the link below:

Dual Boot Kali on Mac Hardware

http://docs.kali.org/installation/kali-linux-dual-boot-on-mac-hardware

And this one too:

Kali Is Your New Pet; The Ultimate Guide About Kali Linux Portability.

http://null-byte.wonderhowto.com/how-to/kali-is-your-new-pet-ultimate-guide-about-kali-linux-portability-0157538/

You will need to install a tool called rEFInd (google for the rEFIt Project) that will modify the Mac's boot menu so you can access Kali.

As for your questions...

  1. I don't see why not; as long as your Mac detects the hardware, the USB stick should be able to be used as a bootable device.
  2. You might not be able to skip this. I'm afraid rEFInd will modify the boot defaults.
  3. Follow the Dual Boot Kali on Mac Hardware documentation. It's meant for it.
  4. GRUB is the Kali's default bootloader, so it's very likely that it'll get installed in the USB device, you won't need to install it manually.
  5. The only risk you might run (if) the installation goes wrong somewhere along way is that the USB stick might become unusable.

Hope that helps.

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  • Thank you for your fast answer, i have another question: In the link below a guy say that you can boot linux without rEFInd by pressing alt key on boot, what do you think about? askubuntu.com/questions/254881/…
    – Mike Roger
    Jun 2, 2015 at 11:49
  • I see what you mean, however we do not know if that person has a Mac similar to yours (OS X 10.8.2) with the same Intel Mac type architecture. You lose nothing giving it a shot; you'll still have the rEFInd option.
    – strkIV
    Jun 2, 2015 at 12:16
  • Thank you very much, and what about driver?
    – Mike Roger
    Jun 2, 2015 at 14:29
  • I'm assuming that you are talking about the USB driver, for which I'd check if the USB it's detected by the OS X without installing it; this is because a driver will do no good once Kali gets installed in it. If it does, it may be recognized as a generic USB device unless the OS loads the proper drivers. At any case, all you need is to make sure that the USB gets detected at boot.
    – strkIV
    Jun 2, 2015 at 16:51
  • No, i'm talking about the mainboard, graphic card, trackpad, chipset, ecc...
    – Mike Roger
    Jun 2, 2015 at 23:08

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