Backtrack 5 VMware and ISO installation

By | June 23, 2011


Backtrack 5 requires a USB wireless adapter to do wireless penetration testing. A built in adapter will not work. For Backtrack compatible USB wireless adapters

Backtrack 5 installation is fairly straight forward. There is two main ways Backtrack can be installed

  1. VMware
  2. ISO

The first way to install Backtrack is with VMware which is the way that I like to usually run Backtrack. For those who do not know VMware is a way to run another operating system virtually within another operating system. Basically if you are running Windows and want to run a Backtrack/Linux install at the same time you can do this with VMware.

VMware works very well and as long as you have a fairly recent computer it should run fine. If you have an older laptop or older computer then the ISO may be better. Mainly because a ISO can be burnt to a disk or any bootable device and booted off of. When Backtrack/Linux is booted off a ISO then it does not run Windows in the back ground.

VMware workstation is not exactly cheap although there is a free version, but anyone who has used torrent or other P2P utilities know that getting things such as this is easy. There is a 30 day free trial for VMware workstation if you want to check it out. VMware player is the best bet because it is free and will run Backtrack. It does not have all the options of VMware workstation but does work.

The download for the newest Backtrack 5 installs and so can be found here. Install VMware first then add the Backtrack VMware image software into it. One thing to mention is that a built in wireless adapter will not work with VMware and Backtrack, a Backtrack wireless USB adapter will have to be bought which is why I have been reviewing Backtrack compatible USB adapters in other post.

Step by step Backtrack 5 VMware installation

  1. Download VMware
  2. Download the Backtrack VMware image file.
  3. Install VMware: follow the default options
  4. Once VMware is installed go to file, open, VMware Backtrack Image file location and click on the file. Backtrack will open and come up to a logon screen. The user name is root and the password is toor. Once you are logged in type startx and Backtrack will open into a GUI.

Backtrack 5 installation videos

 

Step by Step Backtrack 5 ISO install

  1. Download the Backtrack ISO
  2. Download PowerISO or any ISO burning utility if you do not have one.
  3. Install powerISO
  4. Install a DVD into the DVD burner and open PowerISO.
  5. Open the Backtrack image file in PowerISO then click burn and burn the Backtrack image file to DVD.
  6. Use the DVD to boot which ever computer you like into Backtrack.

(The Backtrack ISO can also be used in VMware. Also the Backtrack ISO can be made to boot off of a thumb drive.)

19 thoughts on “Backtrack 5 VMware and ISO installation

  1. prince

    can someone please leave the link to where to get the back track pls

    Reply
  2. vinoth

    can i perform wifi hacking on blacktrack when it is installed in vmware..

    Reply
    1. WirelessHack

      It should work with most virtualization tools. VMware Player is free and works good.

      Reply
  3. Jake Dejardin

    Keep up the wonderful work! I will follow you on Facebook.

    Reply
  4. admin

    @Mauro Montenegro are you able to get the adapter into monitor mode with a “airmon-ng start wlan0” you can just type in “airmon-ng” to be sure the alfa adapter is being seen in backtrack and which wlan it is on such a wlan0 wlan1 and so on. Also reaver will have problems if there is not a good signal and will go into a loop. They state this on there wiki page.

    Reply
  5. Mauro Montenegro

    the problem is that Bactrack keeps trying the same number (12345670) and it says that the wps transaction failed. it states Warning: receive timeout occured….

    Reply
    1. Roberth

      My wireless roteur is in the basement with limited coverage for the 2nd floor and the patio. So my aim was to expand my wireless network coverage. ASUS WL-330gE proved best value and has several functions one of which is to expand the wireless network (labeled as Repeater mode). Now I have an excellent coverage all over my property. The following are the steps I did to set it up: 1. Power on your WL-330gE through the attached USB power cord. 2. Connect the WL-330gE to your laptop through an Ethernet (RJ45) cable. 3. Disconnect your computer from internet/roteur. (Wireless off or unplug Ethernet cable) 4. Open the Internet browser in your computer and type in 192.168.1.220 in the address box. Type admin for ID and admin for password. 5. Select Repeater tab 6. From the available wireless devices select yours enter your password and connect. 7. Click on the advanced setting at the lower left corner and select IP config then select Yes for get IP Automatically. 8. Click apply then logout. 9. Disconnect your ASUS from the computer. Find a central location in your property and connect the device to the power outlet. You do not need to connect it to the net work or a computer

      Reply
  6. Mauro Montenegro

    I have a AWUS036h and I’ve tried backtrack 5, bactrack 5 r1 and bactrack 5 r2 with both (rtl8187 and r8187) drivers and reaver still fails to work. I am using vmware fusion on a macbook 15in. I have even tried different methods using aircrack-ng to capture the 4-way handshake and still I am unable too. I ahve read most forums online and my network card appears to be a really good one for packet injection, yet I have not gotten anywhere since I got this card. I even purchased a router with wps enabled to see if that made a difference and still nothing. Please help me sir, I really have tried hard to get this to work and I dont want to give up yet.

    Reply
    1. Carola

      My 3 year old gateway laotpp with Intel Centrino Mobile technology works great but I was getting frustrated trying to connect to WIFI with only a B internal card. Since the laotpp was out of warranty anyway, ignoring the do not open sticker on the wireless cover on the bottem of the laotpp was no problem, and installation was a breeze, just uninstall the old drivers in the add/remove programs area of Windows XP, shut down,replace the card, then boot up and install the new drivers for the B/G card I had downloaded prior to this from Intel. Works like a charm without having to deal with an external card.

      Reply
    1. Dominik

      Thanks for the info dude, i needed to cganhe the headers in backtrack to install firmware for my wireless, but in order to do that i need to have internet access but how can i if i need the firmware to get on in the first place!Id suggest going though in detail, like where to add the usb controller, and to click the icon for their external USB devices at the bottom of VMWARE’s window if it hasnt been loaded in already.

      Reply
    1. l1qu1d

      Backtrack will work with internal wireless. He is talking about using Backtrack as a Virtual machine. The VM and OS are separated and cannot use the internal wireless .

      Reply
  7. Lyndon Taula

    With all the doggone snow we have gotten recently I am stuck indoors, fortunately there is the internet, thanks for giving me something to do. 🙂

    Reply

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