How to Create a bootable Backtrack 2.0 USB flashdrive

The Backtrack 2.0 final distribution isprobably the finest collection of open source network penetration,security, and auditing tools currently available. I use this softwarefor some network penetration testing and security auditing work Iperform. I suggest only using these tools on networks you own or havepermission to audit because of potential legal ramifications. Thatbeing said, here’s what the Backtrack 2.0 is all about.
According to the remote-exploit web site,
“BackTrack is the most Top rated linux live distribution focused onpenetration testing. With no installation whatsoever, the analysisplatform is started directly from the CD-Rom and is fully accessiblewithin minutes.
It’s evolved from the merge of the two wide spread distributions Whax and Auditor Security Collection.By joining forces and replacing these distribution the BackTrack couldgain a massive popularity and was voted in 2006 as #1 at the surveil ofinsecure.org. Security professionals as well as new-comers are using itas their favorite toolset all over the globe.”
Backtrack 2.0 contains over 300 security tools, and it can be downloaded here. You can find detailed notes that describe how to install Backtrack to a hard drive, and don’t forget to check out the wiki, which details installing Backtrack in many different configurations.
Now that you know what Backtrack 2 contains and why you might wantto use it, here’s the quick instructions for creating a bootable USBstick installation from a Windows machine (Vista Business, in thisinstance).
1) Format your USB drive using FAT32. Do not perform a quick format.
2) Download the Backtrack 2 final .iso and open it with your favorite compression/extraction program. I like Universal Extractor, aka UniExtract.
3) Copy the boot and BT directories from the Backtrack .iso and copy them to your USB drive.
4) Open a command prompt by clicking Start - Run and typing cmd then press enter.
Note: if you’re using Windows Vista you’ll need to open an elevatedcommand prompt, which can do more things than a regular command prompt.To do this, click the Windows Vista icon, right click Command Promptand select Run as administrator - Continue.
5) Change to the drive letter associated with your USB drive. If youdon’t know what letter your USB drive is, and you cannot figure it out,this may not be the best software for you to use.
6) Type cd boot and press enter to change to the boot directory on your USB drive.
7) Type bootinst.bat and press enter to make your USBdrive bootable. You be asked to press any key to continue. Once thebatch file completes you should be able to restart your machine andboot from the Backtrack USB drive.
Parting Notes
Creating the bootable USB drive from the Backtrack GUI Installer did not work for me for whatever reason, and neither did the BackTrack 2.0 Downloader and USB-Stick burner for Windows.Maybe it has to do with using a newer 8 GB flash drive, I’m not sure.There are also many other methods you can try if this doesn’t work foryou, just Google it.
You can also try using the MySlax Creator to add drivers, patches, and other modules to your Backtrack.iso file. irongeek.com has a nice video showing you exactly what needs to be done to integrate these updates into your distribution.