Android is one of the most popular operating systems out there. We use it on our smartphones all the time and the freedom of installing apps and modding is what makes it so fun. Now we can use Android on our laptop as well, using the Android x86 Project. So let us see how to Install and Dual Boot Android x86 and Windows 10/11 on our Laptop.
What is Android x86 Project?
The Android x86 Project is one of the most popular Android OS ported for the Windows system. They started out hosting patches for Android but later realized how much more they can achieve with their codes. Android x86 has ported many Android versions for laptops and PC, like Android Nougat, Oreo, and Pie. I tried all three versions of Android x86. And In my personal usage, I found the Android Oreo to be the most stable out of the bunch.
The testing was done on my HP laptop with an intel i5 6th gen processor and on a Ryzen 5 2500U chipset Asus laptop. But still, the performance might vary for different devices. It was quite easy to Dual Boot Android x86 with my Windows 10 laptop. The GRUB menu was easily created and I could easily choose to boot between Windows or Android x86. I will explain more about its features and stability in the experience part of the post.
1.2. Requirements
- 32-bit or 64-bit System
- 8GB or Above USB
- Intel or AMD Chipset
- UEFI or MBR Boot System
1.3. Downloading and Creating Image
If you have a 64-bit system then download from this link and for 32-bit systems use this link. The download speeds from the servers are quite fast. After the download is complete we need to create a bootable USB drive. We will be using a program called Rufus to do this task. You can get the Rufus program from this link.
Now install and open the program, we need to first locate our downloaded ISO image. We need at least an 8GB or above USB drive for this process. Select your USB drive from the drop-down. Then under the partition scheme select GPT and now we are good to go for the bootable process.
We can also use this on MBR devices as there is no mention of it is not supported. To check our partition scheme, we need to open the Windows search bar and type “Create Partition”.Open the “Create Partition and Format Hard Disk Partition” program.
Here right-click on disk 0, and select properties. Under the volume tab, we can see our partition scheme. Now that we know our partition we can proceed with the Rufus program. Hit the start option and it will format the USB and create an Android x86 bootable drive.
1.4 Creating Partitions
On our hard drive or internal storage, we need to create a partition to install Android x86 OS. We can make a partition size of upward 15GB. Search for “Create Partition” again and in the Windows search bar and open the Create Partition and Format Hard Disk program.
In the program right click on the D Drive and then select the Shrink option. You can choose the partition size of 15GB and up, so type 15000MB for 15GB. Now hit next and your new partition will be created. We can then right-click on the new Unallocated space and create a New Volume. Just follow the on-screen steps and then finish.
1.5 BIOS and Android x86 Installation
Now to continue the Dual Boot Android x86 process, we need to boot into our laptop’s BIOS menu. We can do that by pressing the BIOS key while the device is booting. Check out the image below to find your model’s BIOS key.
Now after booting into the BIOS, we need to select Boot Device Options and then select our USB drive. This will open up the interface where can choose whether to check the Android OS before installing with the LIVE demo mode. Or just go with the installation process.
It is always better to test the LIVE demo of the operating system before installing. We get an idea about the compatibility of the OS with our system. And also to see if there is an issue with the Wi-FI or such. So we will now proceed with the process to Dual Boot Android x86 and Windows 10/11.
Select the partition that we created earlier by observing the size. Now we have to format it in Ext4 format to proceed.
Then allow creating the EFI Grub menu to see the dual boot menu when rebooting the laptop. Also, allow any other prompt permissions and proceed. After it is done syncing the installation and everything we can either Reboot or start Android x86. You can reboot to check the dual boot menu and then chose the Android x86.
2. Experience with Android x86 for Laptop and Desktops
The review is going to cover the Android x86 v8.1 version, as it’s the most stable out of the bunch. When we boot into the Android x86 for the first time, we are given the choice between two launchers. Either Launcher 3 or Taskbar launcher. Launcher 3 provides the same desktop experience as we get in smartphones and tablets.
The Taskbar however is meant to give a Desktop feeling, with a Windows-like Start menu comprising of all the apps installed on the device. The startup was smooth and I did not get any kind of errors. But I prefer the usual Tablet-like user interface.
I tried multiple screen recording apps and none of them worked. Screen recording has issues in most Android OS for PCs and laptops. In the Android x86 options, we need to enable the Native Bridge. This will allow the ARM-based apps to run well. We can then install games and various apps from the Google Play Store.
I tried playing a game called Subway Surfers but it was not registering the mouse click as touch. In Android OS like Prime OS, which is mainly built for Android games. The keyboard and mouse can be used to play various Android games. However, in a game called Candy Crush, the mouse seemed to work well. So I guess it depends upon the type of game.
3. Is Dual Booting Android x86 Worth it?
We can enable the developer options and then turn on the Root option. We can then use apps like root explorer or apps that required root access and tinker around. Android apps like YouTube and Chrome worked like a charm. We can use apps like InShot and Kinemaster to edit videos and take advantage of the larger laptop screen.
Overall Android x86 8.1 is pretty smooth and can be used for daily usage. For people who would like a stable, minimal, and lightweight Android OS on their old or new laptop. Android x86 Oreo version is a great option. You can even try the Fyde OS, again a great Android OS but it’s more similar to Chrome OS.
A majority of people run Android apps on Windows using emulators like Bluestacks. Still, there are those who prefer to dual boot Windows and Android.
But you might be one of the few who would rather use both Operating Systems on one machine. Here’s some information that can help you to learn how to dual boot Android and Windows.
Advantages of Dual-booting Android and Windows
Even though the process of dual booting is time-consuming, the overall performance is better than running Android apps using an emulator. Moreover, not all apps can run on an emulator.
How to Dual Boot Windows and Android
1. Download Android x86 ISO File
You can find the Android x86 ISO file on the official website of the Android x86 operating system. Go to the mirror page of the latest release of Android x86.
Choose either the Fosshub mirror or OSDN mirror to get the download link. On the OSDN ISO page, select android-x86-9.0-r2.iso, which is the 64-bit Android x86 ISO file. Then proceed to download it.
On the Fosshub ISO page, select Android-x86 64-bit ISO file and proceed to download it. The ISO files you download on the mirror pages are basically the same.
2. Download a Flashing tool
After the Android x86 ISO file download is done, the next thing you need to do is download a flashing tool. The best flashing tool for this process is the Rufus flashing tool.
To download it, go to the official Rufus website. The flashing tool is useful for creating a bootable flash drive. On the official download page, select the latest version of Rufus and download it.
3. Flash Android x86 ISO to a USB Flash Drive
To flash, go to downloads, open the downloaded Rufus flashing tool, and run it. Once the file is executed, it will show you an empty device dropdown box. The next thing you’ll do is insert a Flash Drive in the USB slot on your computer.
The flashing tool will detect the inserted Flash Drive, and you’ll see it listed under the “Device” dropdown box. After that, click on “Select” and go to the earlier downloaded Android x86 ISO file from downloads.
Choose on the default label for the Flash Drive or rename it if you want, then click on “Start.” For compatibility, allow Rufus to download additional system files then click “OK” to proceed. Choose the “Write in ISO image mode” and click “OK” to flash the Flash Drive.
When the Flash Drive is successfully flashed, click on “Close” when the window displays “Ready” status.
4. Partition Windows to free up disk space
Partitioning helps in organizing files, applications, and folders into multiple virtual drives and gives your system multi-drive functionality. Go to Disk Management by clicking “Windows key + X” then select “Create and Format Hard Disk Partitions.”
From the list of hard drives, choose the one you want to partition—Right-click on it and select the “Shrink” option to free up the disk space. Input how much free space you want to allocate then wait for the process to be completed. You’ll see a new unallocated space next to the corresponding physical drive.
5. Boot from bootable Flash Drive
To do this, restart your machine. Enter BIOS or UEFI setup on system boot by pressing a designated key (F12, F10, Esc, or F9) depending on the PC model you’re using. Go to booting device settings and choose to boot from the USB Drive.
Save the settings, then press “Esc” to exit BIOS/UEFI setup. Your machine will restart and then display a list of bootable devices. Choose “USB Drive” as the boot device, then click on Enter.
6. Finally, Install Android x86 on PC
Once the system boots from the USB Drive successfully, you’ll see an Android x86 splash screen displayed. Click on “Enter” then proceed to installation by pressing “Install Android-x86 to hard disk”. It will start the installation process, and a list of existing partitions displayed.
Choose the partition you’d created earlier and click on “Enter.” Select “ext4” as the filesystem for formatting and continue. Press to install boot loader GRUB and select “Yes” to boot an item in the Grub boot loader. Accept the default settings and begin the installation.
When you finish, you’ll be given the option of “Reboot” or “Run Android x86.” Eject the Flash Drive then reboot the system. Upon Reboot, the system will ask you whether to boot into Android x86 or the Windows OS.
Alternatives to dual-booting Android and Windows
Use Bluestacks
Bluestacks is the most popular emulator that runs Android-specific apps or games. It runs on Windows just like any other Windows Program. Once you installed it, you can open it and run it within a Window in your PC. It allows for an easy and seamless installation of apps from Google Play.
The performance is not up to par compared to dual-booting Android and Windows, but it is rather stable and suitable for an average user. Unlike many other emulators, the main advantages of a Bluestacks emulator are the ease of installation and fairly good speed. You can also try other emulators like YouWave and Windroy, which are also fairly stable.
Google’s Official Android Emulator
This emulator is part of the Android SDK and is mostly used by Android developers to test their apps. It gives you access to the complete Android operating system set up, and you can run it within a Window in your PC.
The emulator is specially made for testing apps and the latest Android versions but not for normal app usage. It is rather slow, so you can’t use it for activities such as playing games. To install and run it, download Google’s Android SDK.
Android on Intel Architecture
New Intel-based PCs with UEFI firmware uses this architecture to run Android. Android-IA comes with an Installer that allows you dual boot Android and Windows on the same PC.
The project is still new and not yet stable. Also, it doesn’t work on all devices. The only officially supported devices are the Lenovo X220T and X230T, Acer Iconia W700, and Samsung XE700T. I don’t recommend installing the Android-IA unless you have a supported device.
Conclusion
Dual-booting Android and Windows to work on the same PC is not that complicated. But, it doesn’t mean that you can run both operating systems simultaneously. You are only capable of booting into one operating system at a time.
HP Pavilion X2 tablet
Couple of months before i bought the HP Pavilion X2 de-attachable pc/tablet with following specs. Price was about 60e with some fancy 10″ bag. Bag was handy with a lot of compartments for charger, USB-OTG and HDMI cables. Only downside of this tablet was the CPU. Intel Atom Z3736 Baytrail with 2GB of RAM isn’t a thing in these days. Especially for video decoding, but in my case it was intent to serve for OBD diagnostics and CNC run with Arduino Uno and UGS software. It was really painful for everyday use, especially for browsing which i needed from time to time. It came with Windows 8.1 and it was ok. But i wanted to test it with Windows 10, and than i had a lot of issues so i decided to run a bit slim version of WIndows 10.
Tiny 10
As heading says, Tiny 10 is a slim version of Windows 10, with nothing than essential services to run this OS on our already weak hardware. Before any programs were installed, it takes approximately ~900MB of RAM, which left us 1.1 GB for other important things. Need to mention one downside and that is the OS is available only in Brazilian language, so you need a lot of time set it on English. Installing and using mainstream browsers was a disaster. Edge was doing ok with 2-3 tabs, but after that it start to crash and burn, Firefox, Chrome or Opera didn’t even start properly. Than i discovered “Midori” and i must say it was a relief.. for some time.
32-bit Architecture
Beside that Baytrail is weak and slow, there was another issue and that is 32-bit architecture in combination with UEFI instead of regular BIOS. Finding alternative OS for such a weak processor is hard, but, luckily, there were couple of alternatives. In my case, UEFI (Unified Extensible Firmware Interface) recognize only GPT partitions instead of ones with MBR (Master Boot Record), and using older OSes like Windows 7 for example isn’t an option. So i needed to keep on mind all of these details when installing another OS beside Windows 10 which i already have.
Googling is a nice skill to have. Couple of years before i tested the Android (KitKat) that was ported for desktop PCs, i remembered how smooth it was. So i gave it a try. On Their official page i found and tested versions from 6 to 9. And came with conclusion that version Android 7 under revision of CM crew (CyogenMod now known as LineageOS) was a perfect for this device. My criteria isn’t big but this alternative have pros and cons.
Pros
- Memory usage of 600 MB
- Easy to install and setup
- Taskbar launcher for windows alike feeling
- Preinstalled GAPS (Google apps)
Cons
- Buggy wireless connection (reports Authentication problem from time to time)
- Power button need some setup
- No updates
- Beside you defined partition for this installation you also need space for “user” data.img file which leads you to calculate before you start installation
Step by step preparation and install
This is detachable pc / tablet and to run into the UEFI you need to keyboard inserted in USB port or to have OEM keyboard attached. If you choose usb keyboard than you will not have additional space for external USB disk, which is a pity. My device have regular usb and micro usb, but micro-usb is for charging only, so no OTG functions are available and this means no extra USB port. Setups with USB hub i didn’t tested, but led with previous experience these setup didn’t end well for previous Baytrail tablet (after i entered in UEFI shell and started to type commands, tablet stopped and it was bricked at the moment.
- Download the Android X86 from following link: https://www.android-x86.org/releases/releasenote-cm-x86-14-1-r5.html
- Download and run Rufus 3.2: https://github.com/pbatard/rufus/releases/download/v3.21/rufus-3.21.exe
- Start the Rufus and select the details like in picture below. In select menu, select your downloaded ISO image. Also you will need an USB disk with at least 4gb.
Than just press start. After the burning is finished, restart your pc / tablet
- While booting, press F10 on detachable keyboard to enter UEFI. After that disable “secure boot” in Boot menu.
- Restart again, and wait to Android to load. While loading you will see GRUB 2 boot-loader menu with possibilities to test in live environment or to install the system on your device or to continue to boot in Windows. Choose what you prefer.
- In installation menu you will see something like picture below. My eMMC storage device is 32GB, and i split them like 20 GB for windows and 12 for Android (not really 32GB in total).
- Format the defined partition as NTFS (my choice). And lay down until installation is done and user data is configured
- Press the F9 while booting and select your newly installed OS
- Now chose your newly installed OS and you’re done! Browsing, casting, USB functions, HDMI, everything works fine. My advice is to follow the setup wizard as those starts can be buggy sometimes.
I hope you will have positive experience with dual-booting on UEFI tablets. No need to bother yourself with buying selling devices when you can have both Windows and Android and you can enjoy with your favorite apps on both platforms. Maybe for the future i will try with Linux Mint, even thou i don’t use it much, but its my favorite distro.
Enjoy!
После двух месяцев публичного тестирования операционная система Remix OS 2.0 вышла на бета-стадию, которая означает, что теперь этот модифицированный для компьютеров Android можно официально установить рядом с Windows на одном ПК. Компания Jide выпустила специальную утилиту, с помощью которой можно удобно и очень просто установить Remix OS 2.0 в качестве второй системы рядом Windows.
Летом 2016 года вышла Remix OS 3.0. Подробнее о ней читайте на Трешбоксе:
- Как установить Remix OS 3.0 на компьютер
- Обзор Remix OS 3.0 на основе Android 6.0
Напомним, Remix OS 2.0 — это специальная версия Android с адаптацией под компьютеры и ноутбуки. Этот форк Android x86 получил типичный десктопный интерфейс с мультиоконностью и строкой состояния внизу.
Установка рядом с Windows
Вместе с релизом бета-версии компания Jide добавила функцию установки Remix OS 2.0 рядом с Windows прямо из под системы с помощью той самой утилиты для создания загрузочного USB-носителя.
Ссылки на скачивание бета-версии Remix OS 2.0:
- 64 бита (UEFI + Legacy BIOS) — прямая ссылка + torrent.
- 32 бита (Legacy BIOS) — torrent.
Таким образом, теперь инструкция по установке Remix OS 2.0 рядом с Windows (поддерживаются версии от 7 до 10) с двойной загрузкой выглядит таким образом (без флешки):
- Скачайте последние версии образов Remix OS 2.0 с официального сайта или через торрент (ссылки сверху).
- Распакуйте скачанный архив в удобную для вас папку.
- Запустите утилиту Remix OS Installation Tool.exe и вместо USB Drive в нижнем выпадающем списке выберите «Жесткий диск». Справа выберите раздел, на который будет установлена Remix OS 2.0. Обязательно нужно выбрать именно тот, на который установлена Windows.
- Нажмите на кнопку “Browse” и выберите iso-образ, который был в распакованном архиве.
- Нажмите на кнопку “OK”. Должна начаться установка.
- После завершения установки утилита предложит перезагрузить компьютер.
- После перезагрузки должно появиться меню двойной загрузки — Windows и Remix OS.
После выбора Remix OS 2.0 стоит подождать 15–20 минут, в течение которых система создаст виртуальный диск размером 8 ГБ для работы. Время на эту операцию зависит от мощности вашего компьютера.
Как удалить Remix OS 2.0 с компьютера
Удалить систему с компьютера еще проще, чем установить. Достаточно запустить ту самую утилиту Remix OS Installation Tool.exe, которая сразу определит, что ОС уже установлена и предложит ее удалить, если это нужно. Процесс занимает несколько минут, при этом загрузчик тоже будет очищен.
Также есть альтернативный способ удаления Remix OS 2.0 с компьютера:
- Перейдите в каталог C:\Remix OS\
- Найдите файл UninstallRemixOS.exe и запустите его.
- Это обычная программа удаления системы, которая удалит саму Remix OS и очистит загрузчик.
Что нового в бета-версии?
Разработчики из компании Jide провели большую работу над новой бета-версией Remix OS 2.0. В первую очередь стоит отметить, что теперь версия Remix OS для компьютеров обновляется по протоколу OTA так же, как и версия этой системы для планшетов и мини-ПК от Jide. То есть все пользователи ОС теперь получают апдейты «по воздуху» с новыми функциями.
Появилась официальная поддержка 32-битных компьютеров и загрузчика UEFI. Исправлено более 50 критических багов. Как уже было описано выше, бета-версию Remix OS 2.0 теперь можно установить на компьютер рядом с Windows с поддержкой двойной загрузки (dual boot).
Другие изменения:
- Улучшенная поддержка процессоров Intel (ядро Linux обновлено до версии 4.4).
- Поддержка большего объема данных — до 64 ГБ на USB.
- Увеличенная скорость загрузки с USB.
- Исправлен баг с отображением индикатора батареи для ноутбуков.
- Поддержка 1080p-дисплеев в приложениях YouTube и Netflix.
- Предустановлено приложение с терминалом для разработчиков.
- Образы системы теперь поддерживают EFI и Legacy BIOS.
Как активировать встроенный Google Play
Спустя некоторое время после выхода бета-версии Remix OS 2.0 в ней обнаружили встроенные сервисы Google, включая каталог Play Store. Разработчики запрятали их в системе для релиза в будущих обновлениях.
Как активировать встроенные сервисы Google:
- Запустите root-терминал (можно командой Alt+F1) и введите команду pm disable com.jide.apppolicy
- Это команда отключает приложение JideAppPolicy, которое блокирует встроенные сервисы Google. Далее введите команду pm list packages -d
- Эта команда выведет список заблокированных приложений.
- Среди них найдите com.android.vending, com.google.android.gsf и com.google.android.gms и далее введите команды pm enable <имя пакета> два раза отдельно (или сколько вам угодно раз).
- Чтобы перейти к графическому интерфейсу нажмите сочетание Alt+F7.
- После этого желательно в настройках принудительно остановить и очистить данные у приложений Google Play Store, Google Play services и Google Services Framework.
- После этого перезагрузите систему и приложения должны будут работать.
Последующие обновления Remix OS 2.0 могут вернуть ограничения обратно, поэтому рекомендуется отключить установку автоматических апдейтов с помощью команды pm disable com.jide.autoupdater в терминале.
Как установить Google Play на Remix OS? Какие приложения хорошо подходят под эту систему? Всю эту полезную информацию можно найти в нашей предыдущей статье о Remix OS 2.0, где также есть неофициальные инструкции по установке системы на ПК и по загрузке с USB-носителя.
If you want to run Android apps on your Windows 10, then you need to download emulators as they are specifically made for this purpose.
However, not everyone wants to download an emulator on their Windows 10, because it might contain a virus or is not accessible.
Another alternative to download Android apps is through dual-booting Windows 10 and Android.
Even though it is a lengthy process, but it is much better compared to using any emulators available on the internet.
When you dual boot Android and Windows 10, it will let you use Windows and Android on the same PC.
Why not Use Emulators?
Most people must be wondering why to use dual-booting when you can take the easy way out and use emulators. The first advantage of dual booting is that the user gets access to the full version of Android on their system, and the performance is much better as well.
Moreover, even though emulators are easy to download, they are compatible with limited Android apps, while dual booting doesn’t have any limit.
Read more: How to Compile an Android Kernel?
Dual-booting
Dual-booting is not the same as installing an emulator. First, you need to install Android on a hard drive, for dual booting to take effect.
Windows 10 will be the core operating system, and it should be pre-installed on the hard drive. In the boot menu, you will get to see an option to choose the operating system that you want to see, whenever you run your PC.
Follow the steps below to dual boot Windows 10 with Android
- Get a USB 3.0 flash drive, which should have 8GB storage and FAT32 support
- The writing speed has to be more than 20MB/s
- Enable secure boot on your PC
- Go to the official website of Remix OS, and download it from there
- Launch Remix OS, and then run the installer
- Reboot your system, and it will install the operating system
- There are two options that you will see when you turn on the PC, Windows 10 and Remix OS
Download Android-x86 ISO
If you don’t want to download Remix OS, then you can also install Android-x86. However, there are not many devices that are supported by Android-x86.
- Download Android-x86 ISO, and then burn the ISO image to create a USB disk, which you can easily boot.
- Boot using the USB, and then choose the option of “Install Android to hard disk”, install the OS, and when you open the boot menu, you will get to see the Android option.
Bliss OS ISO
Another thing that you can do to dual boot Windows 10 with Android 10, is to download Bliss OS ISO.
The first thing that you need to do is disable the secure boot, which you can do by following the steps below:
- Go to Windows 10 Settings.
- Update Security and then click on Recovery
- Choose Restart Now in the Recovery Settings, and you will get access to a boot menu
- Click on the Troubleshoot option, advanced option, and then select the UEFI Firmware Settings.
- From here, the user can disable the secure boot.
Read more: How to Change Username on SoundCloud?
Create a partition on your PC
- The next thing to do is to create a partition on your PC, and that you can do it by going to the disk management tool.
- When you are done making a partition, you should reboot your PC, and then press the f12 key.
- The next thing you need to do is choose your USB device, and you will get access to the Bliss OS installation menu.
- Format the partition, and then start the installation process.
- The Android 10 will install on your PC now, after which you can restart your PC. Here you can get a guide.