-1

I'm failing to get a new Kali linux OS, with a working Xfce windows manager. I'm able to make a bootable USB, then install Kali on my system.

I downloaded the Kali Linux 64-Bit (Installer) (Version: 2020.1).

I followed the "Single Boot Kali" instructions here.

But when first booting into the new system, trying to run startxfce4 fails with the following error

startxfce4
/usr/bin/startxfce4: Starting X Server
/usr/bin/startxfce4: 122: exec: xinit: not found

I tried troubleshooting a few things, but no dice.

  • I can't run startx doesn't yet exist in the new system. And I haven't created any X or Xfce config files. I'm just logging into a new system.

  • This StackExchange issue is exactly like mine. But xwmconfig isn't on my system either.

Nutritioustim
  • 235
  • 4
  • 12
  • 1
    this may help ... https://unix.meta.stackexchange.com/questions/5360/why-is-kali-linux-so-hard-to-set-up-why-wont-people-help-me/5361#5361 – jsotola Feb 14 '20 at 05:30
  • The error states you’re missing `xinit`. Install it and try again. – Peschke Feb 14 '20 at 06:20
  • @Peschke I did try that, but got the error `E: Unable to locate package xinit`. Apparently this is because I am using an end of life unsupported version of Debian (or Kali). So I can update possibly update `sources.list`. But there's no instruction on what values Kali uses. – Nutritioustim Feb 14 '20 at 19:20
  • You said you use version 2020.1, which looks like the latest to me. The package can sometimes be called xorg-xinit or similar. You’ll have to double check the way Kali or Debian names it. – Peschke Feb 14 '20 at 19:37

1 Answers1

0

Ok, I sorted this one out.

Out of the box, Kali's /etc/apt/sources.list is empty. Kali has a list of Network Repositories. So I just added the kali-rolling repository, then installed xinit and xorg. From there, running startxfce4 works.

# add this line at the bottom of /etc/apt/sources.list
deb http://http.kali.org/kali kali-rolling main non-free contrib

sudo apt-get update &&
sudo apt-get install xinit xorg &&
startxfce4
Nutritioustim
  • 235
  • 4
  • 12