Installing Kali Linux on Windows 11 is a great way to use the power of the Kali penetration testing distribution while still having access to Windows. With Kali, you get a huge array of security and hacking tools that you can use for ethical hacking and penetration testing.
Prerequisites
Before installing Kali on Windows 11, you need:
Windows 11 OS updated to the latest version
At least 20GB of free disk space
At least 8GB RAM (16GB recommended)
Administrator access on your Windows machine
Stable internet connection
You'll also need to download the Kali Linux ISO image from https://www.kali.org/get-kali/.
Enable Hyper-V
The first step is enabling Hyper-V on Windows 11:
Open Windows Settings
Go to Apps > Apps & Features
On the right side click "Turn Windows Features On or Off"
Check the box for "Hyper-V" and click OK
Reboot your system
Hyper-V provides the virtualization technology needed to run Kali Linux.
Download VirtualBox
Next, download and install VirtualBox on your Windows 11 machine. VirtualBox allows you to create and run virtual machines.
Once installed, launch VirtualBox to create your Kali virtual machine.
Create Kali Virtual Machine
In VirtualBox, click "New" to create a new virtual machine. Set the following configurations:
Name: Kali Linux
Type: Linux
Version: Debian (64-bit)
Set memory size to at least 4096MB (or higher if possible).
Enable PAE/NX support for the VM. Then create a virtual hard disk (VDI format) at least 20GB in size for Kali.
Install Kali Linux
With your virtual machine created, select it and click Settings > Storage. Under the Controller IDE section, click the empty CD icon and select "Choose Virtual Optical Disk File" then select your Kali ISO download.
Click OK to save settings. Then start your Kali VM.
You may need to press F12 while booting to select the CD drive as the boot device if it does not start from the ISO automatically.
Follow the prompts to install Kali Linux onto your virtual hard drive. The default options are fine for most users during the installation process.
Using Kali in Windows 11
Once Kali finishes installing, reboot into your new virtual Kali machine! You now have the powerful penetration testing distribution running right within Windows 11 thanks to Hyper-V and VirtualBox.
The performance will not be quite as fast as a native install, but still more than usable. When done using Kali, you can close the VM window or suspend it to easily pick back up again later.
Enjoy having the convenience and flexibility to go back and forth between using Windows 11 and Kali Linux! Let the ethical hacking and pentesting begin.