How to install Android on a computer

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

Use all the possibilities of the mobile system from Google on your PC or laptop.

Download the distribution

Initially, Android did not have support for x86 computers, and older versions were intended exclusively for mobile devices. Now there are no restrictions. On the site of the developers of the Android-x86 project, you can download the distribution kit of the system, which can be installed on any computer without any problems. The latest version available for installation is Android 7.1.

When choosing a distribution kit, pay attention to the bit depth. If your computer uses x86 architecture, you need to download the appropriate installation package. You can see the type of system in the properties of the "Computer".

Create installation media

To create bootable media, it is recommended to use a USB flash drive with a volume of at least 2 GB. The file system is FAT32.

Use the Rufus program to write the distribution to a USB flash drive. Connect the drive to your computer and set the settings in Rufus as shown in the screenshot. Select create ISO image and click on the drive icon to specify the path to the downloaded Android file.

When asked about the type of recording, select ISO. During the creation of the bootable media, all data will be deleted from the flash drive.

Run without installation

The Android-x86 distribution has the function of starting the system without installing. In this mode, you can use all the functions of Android, but the changes made are not saved. In fact, this is a demo mode that helps you understand whether it will be convenient to work with Android on a computer.

Restart your computer and boot from the USB stick - just like reinstalling Windows. In the menu, select the first item Run Android without installation.

After a short boot up, the screen for selecting the language and other initial settings will appear. At this point, the keyboard, mouse and touchpad should be working if you are running Android on a laptop. You can not configure anything - anyway, the configuration is not saved in this mode.

Click "Next" until you get to the main screen of the system. Check out how this version of Android works on your computer. Wi-Fi, LAN connection, video playback - everything should work by default, without additional configuration.

Install the system

If you want two systems on your computer, create a partition for Android installation. Installing on a Windows partition will erase the entire system. For Android, you need to allocate at least 8 GB of free space. The optimal size is 16 GB.

Click on the last item Install Android to harddisk on the installer screen. Select the section dedicated to Android.

Specify the file system FAT32 or NTFS. A warning will appear stating that all data from the selected partition will be erased. Click Yes.

Accept the offer to install the GRUB bootloader. Install the EFI GRUB2 subkey if you are installing Android on a UEFI computer. If there is a regular BIOS, click Skip.

Click Yes in the "Do you want to install / system directory as read-write?" Dialog to be able to overwrite data on the system.

Wait for the installation to complete. After installation, you will be prompted to create a custom partition within the system. Click Yes and set the size to 2000 MB.

Click Run Android to complete the installation. The initial setup of the system completely repeats the first inclusion of a new device on Android: you need to select a language, Wi-Fi network and add a Google account.

Android-x86 is not the only desktop version of Android. For a change, you can install Remix OS. It is positioned as an easier to install and learn system, which was immediately created for a computer, although it uses the Android ecosystem at its core.