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I'm using rufus to create a bootable USB for Kali Linux.

In my last attempt I chose MBR partition scheme for BIOS or UEFI, but the USB didn't boot, as my system type is UEFI.

This time I'm choosing GPT partition scheme for UEFI, but the rufus is showing the following error:

EFI bootable ISO is required

Partition scheme and target system type: selections

I've downloaded latest version of Kali Linux, which must be a supported ISO for EFI boot. I'm running UEFI system with pre-installed Windows 10. BIOS settings are already set to USB as top priority.

Is there anyway I'll be able to boot USB?

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  • I didn't find this answer helpful: unix.stackexchange.com/a/281863/192349 because I've downloaded kali linux from that link only and nowhere it is written that the ISO supports UEFI.
    – defalt
    Sep 29, 2016 at 3:14
  • If Kali recommends rufus, then use it; if it doesn't do so explicitly, then be aware that rufus, unetbootin, ultraiso can ruin images when putting those on the media. Is there /EFI directory within that ISO?
    – Michael Shigorin
    Sep 29, 2016 at 10:20
  • @MichaelShigorin No there wasn't any EFI directory so I created one EFI<BOOT and then I downloaded and copied BOOTX64.efi grubx64.efi MokManager.efi and grub.txt. Now I'm able to boot kali linux. Source: kwtechnet.blogspot.com/2014/05/…
    – defalt
    Sep 29, 2016 at 10:25
  • @MichaelShigorin My problems didn't end up here. Even though my system is recognizing the bootable USB yet each time I push to install kali linux it launches the most famous error. This error: i.stack.imgur.com/VGF6O.jpg Do I need to make new thread regarding this?
    – defalt
    Sep 29, 2016 at 10:41
  • It's definitely not enough, you might tweak the semi-manually installed system to have and maintain EFI capable bootloader as well but that's all quite a hassle (been there, done that as I've implemented UEFI support in ALT Linux)... maybe the easier way would be to ask/wait for UEFI support in Kali, installing/booting it in Legacy/BIOS mode (win8+ dualboot is hard this way though), or choosing another distro in the meantime (I'm using my own starterkits, for one, but ALT is mostly Russian-oriented).
    – Michael Shigorin
    Sep 30, 2016 at 10:58

1 Answer 1

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I had the same issue as you and found the solution on the Fedora wiki (while trying to get the EFI files) The problem is, like Michael said, the programs to create live USBs (Rufus, unetbooting, etc.) only work in Legacy mode. I used the Fedora Media Writer and was able to boot in UEFI with no trouble. My computer recognized Kali as soon as it was plugged in. It's a very straight forward install. It creates a locked partition with the Kali ISO files and then a second partition with what looks like a mini grub loader to boot from. Looking at the Kali website I believe the guide there does something similar because persistence ends up being sda3 not 2 like it would with Rufus.

TLDR: Use Fedora Media Writer to create your live USB. The other programs only work in Legacy mode

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