Dual boot android on windows

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.

This article describes the process to install latest version Android x86 as a Dual Boot Host Operating System on a Computer by creating a bootable Android x86 USB Flash Drive on an existing Windows System. Android x86 will be installed alongside the existing Windows operating system. Both the operating systems will exist in your PC but you can boot into one of them at a time. You can use a Flash Drive of 2 GB or more to make it bootable.To create an Android x86 bootable Flash Drive on a Windows system and install it as a dual boot host operating system alongside Windows, follow the six easy steps below:

Step 1: Download Android x86 ISO File

Login to your Windows System, open a web browser and navigate to official website of Android x86 Operating System. On the Home Page, click on “Download” button to navigate to download mirror page of latest release of Android x86 Operating System.

Choose one of the given mirrors either “Fosshub” or “OSDN” to get ISO download link. On OSDN ISO download page click on “android-x86-9.0-r2.iso” file name link to download 64-bit Android x86 ISO file. Whereas, on Fosshub ISO download page click on “Android-x86 64-bit ISO file” file name link to download 64-bit Android x86 ISO file. Both these mirrors will provide you the same ISO file. The browser will prompt to save the ISO file. Save the ISO file to your computer. Wait for the download to finish.

Step 2: Download Rufus Flashing tool

In the meantime, while the Android x86 ISO file is downloading, navigate to official web site of Rufus to download Rufus flashing Software tool for creating a bootable Flash Drive. Scroll down the page and click on the link to download latest version of Rufus tool under download section. Wait for the download to finish and close the web browser.

Step 3: Flash Android x86 ISO to USB Flash Drive

Go to the download location and open Rufus tool by executing downloaded Rufus file. The “Device” dropdown box will be empty. Insert a Flash Drive in the USB slot of your computer. Rufus will detect the Flash and display in “Device” dropdown box. Now browse and select the Android x86 ISO file from download location by clicking on “Select” button. Type in Label for the flash drive of your choice such as “Android x86 Flash Drive” or continue with default label. Keep other options with default values and click on “Start”. Click “Yes” to allow Rufus to download additional system files for compatibility with the given ISO file. Click “OK” and continue with recommended option to “Write in ISO Image mode”. Ensure that there is no important data on the Flash Drive (as it will be erased) and click “Ok” to continue flashing the drive. Wait for the flashing to finish. Click “Close” when Rufus window display “Ready” as status to close the Rufus Tool on successful flashing of Flash Drive.

Step 4: Resize Windows Partition to free up disk space

Open “Computer Management” application by searching from Start Menu or selecting “Manage” from context menu while right clicking on “This PC” in File Explorer. In Computer Management, click on “Disk Management” under “Storage” category. Right Click on an existing partition and use “shrink” option to free up disk space. The free disk space will appear as unallocated space in Disk Management.

Step 5: Set and Boot from bootable Flash Drive

Restart your system. On system boot, press a designated key (F10, F12, F2, Del, Esc, F9) to enter BIOS or UEFI Setup. It could be different on different make and model. Try other keys as per Make and Model of your computer. Search for the booting device settings and select USB Drive as the Booting Device. Save and Exit BIOS / UEFI setup. The system will restart. While booting, press the designated key (F9, F10, F12, F2, Del, Esc) to display Boot Menu. It will display the list of booting devices. Select USB Drive as Boot Device and Hit Enter.

Step 6: Install Android x86 on PC

If the system will boot from the flash drive, it will display Android x86 splash screen on your computer screen. Press “Enter” on “Installation – Install Android-x86 to harddisk” option to begin installation of Android x86 operating system. The setup will display a list of partitions existing on your computer. Move to “Create/ Modify Partitions” and hit Enter to open cfdisk utility. Move to “Free Space” under FS type, move cursor to [New] and hit Enter. Select [Primary] → keep default size → Select [Write] → type “yes” and hit ENTER. cfdisk utility will write the new partition table to disk. Select [Quit] and hit ENTER.

Choose the new created partition and hit “Enter”. The setup will ask the filesystem for formatting. Select “ext4” and continue. After formatting, setup ask whether you want to install boot loader GRUB. Press “Yes”. The installer will ask if you want a boot item for Windows in the Grub boot Loader. Press “Yes” as we are installing Android alongside Windows. Continue further with the default settings.  The installation will begin.

Wait till installation process is on-going. Upon completion, installation setup will provide the option to “Run Android-x86” or “Reboot”. Remove the Flash Drive and click on “Reboot”. The system will reboot. Wait while system is rebooting.

Upon reboot, boot loader will display options to boot into Android x86 or Windows operating system. You may select either Windows (generally last item on list) or Android x86 (generally first item on list) to boot into and use as per your requirements.

Watch the practical demonstration of the above process in following video: