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Setting up a dual boot Kali Linux install next to Windows lets you keep your everyday Windows apps while getting full hardware access for penetration testing tools that struggle inside a virtual machine. Here’s the complete dual boot process, updated for current Kali releases.
System requirements
Kali Linux can run with as little as 128MB of RAM (512MB recommended) if you skip the desktop entirely and just run it headless over SSH, according to the current official minimums.
For a normal desktop install, plan for at least 2GB of RAM and 20GB of free disk space. More RAM helps if you plan on running memory-heavy tools like Metasploit or Burp Suite alongside your usual Windows workload.
Installation pre-requisites
- A PC or laptop with Windows 10 or 11 pre-installed
- A 4GB USB device (8GB recommended)
- An Intel or AMD 64-bit processor
- Rufus, for flashing the installer to your USB drive
- Secure boot disabled in the BIOS or UEFI menu
- Fast Startup disabled in Windows power options
- BitLocker disabled, if it’s currently protecting your Windows drive
Fast Startup and BitLocker both interfere with resizing a live Windows partition, so it’s worth clearing them before you touch Disk Management. To disable Fast Startup, open Control Panel > Hardware and Sound > Power Options > Choose what the power buttons do, click Change settings that are currently unavailable, then uncheck Turn on fast startup and save.
If BitLocker is on, Windows encrypts the drive at the sector level, which can confuse the boot manager once a second operating system shows up. Suspend it from Control Panel > BitLocker Drive Encryption before you resize anything, and you can turn it back on once Kali is installed and working.
Check whether your PC boots in UEFI or Legacy BIOS mode too, since Windows and Kali both need to use the same one for GRUB to hand off between them correctly. Most machines built since around 2017 ship in UEFI mode by default, and mixing modes is one of the more common reasons a dual boot fails to show both entries.
1. Free up space from hard disk
For installing Kali Linux, You need to free up some space from your hard disk. I assume your windows is taking 100% of your space, so, we need to resize the windows partitions and shrink the volume.
Open Disk Management through search or press Windows+R. Type diskmgmt.msc and press Enter.
Now, Right-click on the disk partition you want to shrink. Click on Shrink volume. Here the disk partition with a size 97GB is the Windows partition.
Now, Enter the amount of space to shrink. Here, We are freeing up 20GB of space from the windows partition by shrinking the volume. IT also shows the size of available shrink space.
20GB of unallocated space is created and the windows partition size is reduced to 77GB as shown below.
This same Disk Management flow works the same way whether you’re on Windows 10 or Windows 11, since the shrink volume tool hasn’t changed between the two versions.
2. Installing the pre-requisites
To download the Kali Linux iso file, Go to the official website of Kali Linux or click here to directly install the amd-64 image file. Wait till the download completes. There are other options like weekly( weekly release), everything( contains every tool possible).
Now, Install Rufus software to create a bootable USB flash drive. Now Open Rufus and select the USB drive and the ISO file. Click on Start and wait till it completes.
Kali is on the 2026.2 rolling release as of this writing, and Rufus is now on version 4.15, which added Windows 11 TPM and Secure Boot bypass options that weren’t in older 3.x builds. Grab the current installer straight from rufus.ie rather than an old cached download link, since Rufus updates often and old builds sometimes miss newer USB controllers.
3. Create a bootable USB
4. Boot into the Kali Linux installer
After flashing the USB drive, Shut down the system and boot into the installation media from the boot menu. Press F12 ( or F11) for the boot menu. Select the installation media(USB drive) and press Enter. Select Graphical installer and press Enter.
Select a language, location, and keyboard layout and click Continue.
The boot key varies by manufacturer, so if F12 doesn’t bring up the boot menu on your machine, try F11, F9, Esc or Delete instead, since Dell, HP and Lenovo all pick different defaults.
5. Set the hostname, username and password
Now, Enter the hostname, full name, Username and choose a password.
This password will also be your root password. Choose a password and click on Continue.
Kali stopped defaulting to a root login back in 2020, so the account you set up here is a regular sudo user, not root. If you ever lose this password, our guide on resetting a forgotten Kali Linux password walks through recovery from the live installer.
6. Choose your timezone
After setting up your username and password, choose your preferred timezone from the list. This only sets the display timezone inside Kali, so pick whichever region matches where you actually are rather than where the system clock happens to be set. Once you confirm it, the installer moves straight into the partition disk menu, which is the step that actually matters for a safe dual boot.
7. Partition the disk for dual boot
This is the most important step. Perform this step carefully without overwriting any partition of windows. It may corrupt your windows partition. So, Choose Manual from the partition disk menu and Click on Continue.
Create the root partition
Now, Select the unallocated free space(83GB in my system) and press Enter. Click on Create new partition and press Enter. Choose your disk partition size(minimum of 20GB) and press Enter. Then choose whether you want this partition at the beginning or end of the free space. Choose beginning and press Enter.
After choosing all the appropriate options, The partition will be shown like this. Double- Click on Done setting up the partition.
Add a swap partition and finish
From the free space available, create another partition of 8GB and mount point as swap. After creating the partitions, Double-Click on Finish partitioning and write changes to the disk. On the next option, Click on Yes to confirm writing changes to the disk and click on Continue.
An 8GB swap partition made more sense back when 4GB of RAM was typical. If your machine has 16GB or more, a smaller swap partition, or even a swap file added later, is usually enough unless you plan to hibernate Kali.
8. Select software and finish the installation
After Disk partitioning, in the Software selection menu, You can choose to install a different desktop environment (default is Xfce) and choose a different collection of tools. Click on Continue.
Wait till the installation completes.
Xfce has stayed the default here for years because it’s light enough to leave headroom for the pentesting tools Kali ships with, though GNOME and KDE Plasma are both fully supported if you’d rather switch.
9. Reboot into Kali Linux
After the installation is completed, click on Continue to reboot to your newly installed kali Linux. Make sure you remove the installation media after clicking on Continue.
Now boot into Kali Linux from the boot menu. You can also change the desktop environment when you are logging in. The GRUB menu that appears is what actually lets you pick Kali or Windows on every future boot.
10. Fix it if Kali doesn’t appear in the boot menu
Occasionally GRUB installs but only lists Kali, with no entry for Windows at all. This usually means the os-prober setting that scans for other operating systems got left disabled during setup.
Boot into Kali, open a root terminal and check the setting:
kali@kali:~$ cat /etc/default/grub | grep GRUB_DISABLE_OS_PROBER
If the line is commented out or reads false with a leading #, enable it and regenerate the boot menu:
kali@kali:~$ sudo sed -i 's/#GRUB_DISABLE_OS_PROBER=false/GRUB_DISABLE_OS_PROBER=false/' /etc/default/grub
kali@kali:~$ sudo update-grub
Watch the output for a line like Found Windows Boot Manager on /dev/sda1, which confirms os-prober picked up the other operating system. Reboot and both entries should now show in the menu. If you want to fine tune how long that menu waits before auto-booting, our guide on how to customize the GRUB bootloader’s loading time covers the timeout setting. A separate grub rescue> prompt instead of a menu is a different problem, usually a damaged boot partition, and our fix for the no such partition grub rescue error walks through repairing that.
11. Keep the clock in sync between Kali and Windows
A dual boot setup can leave your system clock jumping back and forth by several hours, since Windows expects the hardware clock in local time while Linux expects it in UTC. If Kali’s clock looks wrong after switching from Windows, tell Kali to treat the hardware clock as local time instead:
kali@kali:~$ timedatectl set-local-rtc 1 --adjust-system-clock
To undo it later, run the same command with a 0 instead of a 1. This is a one-time fix, and it won’t need repeating unless you reinstall either operating system.
Key takeaways
- Kali Linux needs 2GB of RAM and 20GB of free disk space for a normal desktop install.
- Disable Fast Startup, Secure Boot and BitLocker in Windows before resizing any partition.
- Shrink the Windows volume in Disk Management to create free space for Kali.
- Flash the Kali ISO to USB with the current version of Rufus, not an old cached download.
- Manual partitioning is the safest way to protect your existing Windows data.
- An 8GB swap partition is optional on machines with 16GB of RAM or more.
- Enable os-prober and run update-grub if Windows disappears from the GRUB menu.
- Run timedatectl set-local-rtc if the clock drifts after switching operating systems.
Frequently asked questions
Will dual booting Kali Linux erase my Windows files?
No, as long as you shrink your Windows partition instead of deleting it and choose manual partitioning during Kali’s install. Skipping the manual step risks overwriting Windows data.
Do I need to disable Secure Boot to dual boot Kali Linux?
Most Kali installers need Secure Boot disabled in BIOS or UEFI to boot from USB. Some newer Rufus builds add a partial bypass, but disabling it in firmware works everywhere.
Why doesn’t Windows show up in my GRUB boot menu?
The os-prober setting that detects other operating systems is usually disabled by default. Enable GRUB_DISABLE_OS_PROBER in /etc/default/grub and run sudo update-grub to fix it.
Can I dual boot Kali Linux with Windows 11 the same way as Windows 10?
Yes, the partitioning and installer steps are identical. Windows 11’s BitLocker is enabled by default more often, so check that setting before you start.
How much free space does Kali Linux need for a dual boot install?
Kali’s own documentation recommends at least 20GB of free space for the install, though 40GB or more gives you comfortable room for tools and captured data.
Do I need a Wi-Fi adapter that supports monitor mode for Kali Linux?
Only if you plan on wireless testing, since most laptop Wi-Fi chipsets don’t support packet injection. Our guide to installing a Wi-Fi adapter driver on Linux covers getting one recognized.
What should I install first after setting up the dual boot?
Run a full system update, then work through our list of essential Kali Linux commands to get comfortable with the tools you’ll use most.
Conclusion
Dual booting Kali Linux with Windows gives you direct hardware access for the tools that need it, without giving up the Windows install you already rely on day to day.