How to complete install Android-x86 on a USB

Android-x86 is a community project to port AOSP (Android Open Source Project) to x86 platform i.e. Intel or AMD processors, which means that it can be installed on your PC just like Windows or Ubuntu. Hence, I find it to be the most versatile and practical of the port-Android-to-PC projects.

It can be installed on various platforms as per anyone's convenience, and I am going to discuss some of them here -

- Complete install on a laptop
- Dual-boot with Windows/Linux
- Install on VirtualBox
- Install on a USB

Each of the above process are DIY, out of which 'complete install on laptop' is the best, but for the rest of the processes, some people may experience troubles while making partitions for Dual-boot or running VirtualBox. On the other hand, Installing Android-x86 on a USB is a lot better option as this doesn't interfere with your Laptop's hard disk or overwrite system's MBR/Grub, instead is very portable and lets one plugin Android on any Laptop/Desktop anywhere as per one's convenience.

Hence, in this article, I will discuss on how to install Android-x86 on any USB -

Requirements -
Android-x86 4.4 Release ISO
One >2GB Bootable USB drive
Linux Live USB Creator
EaseUS Partition Master

Make Partition on USB drive
Download the EaseUS Partition Master from the site and make two partitions on the USB. First partition should be formatted as FAT32 and be of size greater than 750mb (I made it 1 GB) and the second partition should be formatted as ext3 and be of the remaining size of USB.

Make USB bootable for Android-x86
Run Linux Live USB Creator and select the target USB. Then select the target ISO from the folder where it was downloaded. Now, cick on the 'Bolt' sign and wait for 2-3 minutes to let the process finish. It will automatically install the ISO on the partition #1 which is in FAT32 format as Windows doesn't recognize ext3 format.

Reboot the System
Now, reboot the system and go into Boot order menu of the BIOS (by pressing F9 for HP, F12 for Dell). Change the Boot order to boot from USB. Now, save and exit the settings.

Install Android-x86 on USB
After recognizing the USB, a blue Android-x86 screen with 4 options will appear. Select the 4th option - Install Android-x86 on Hard disk.

 

Now, installer will ask for the partition on which to install Android-x86.
[BE VERY CAREFUL]
Now, you have to select the partition which you had formatted as ext3 aka Linux partition.
DON'T select any other partition or your system's Hard-disk.

Now, when prompted, format the selected partition to ext3.

Then it will ask if you want to install the Grub, click Yes.

Then it will ask if it can write the OS to the disk, click Yes.

 

Then, when prompted, reboot the system and voila! Android-x86 has been installed on the 2nd partition of your USB.

Now, you can use Android on any laptop anytime with your data/apps intact.

If you have any questions or inputs, leave a comment below and I will get back to you.


PS - Now, you can now format the 1st partition of the USB as FAT32 again and use it as a storage space yet again.

Note: Install at your own risk. Works for me though and I followed the exact same steps I listed above

How to Run Android (4.4+) on your PC for Free

Android is the mobile OS with the largest and ever-growing market share, owing to its customizability and its open-Source nature. Android, due to the Smartphone-era boom has grown so much into us, that it has encouraged various developers to build AOSP for PC devices too.

With a growth in graphics-intensive games and productivity apps, for people with not-so-flagship phones or OEM-customized UI (read Touchwiz), it gets cumbersome to enjoy the experience to the fullest. With current spate in the move of tech industry towards the 9+-inch market, it seems justifiable for a need to run Android on PC too, for better graphics, or convenience or the heck of it.

But, with Google not taking any stand on this matter, we have seen other developers taking a lead in this foray, and even doing a good job at it.

I would like to mention a few projects -

Bluestacks - Bluestacks App Player has become a household name in the tech world. Owing to its easy installation on Windows (XP,Vista or 7/8), up to date Android interface and numerous compatible game apps, it has become a reliable platform to run your favorite Android apps from PC. [Free, Android 4.4 build available]

Andy - Andy, the Android Emulator is the new kid on the block, but a smart one at that. It boasts of various features which are absent in Bluestacks, like full ARM support. Phone as controller etc., but the main advantage of Andy is that it runs equally well as Bluestacks, or even better at a few places like better connection for network-dependent games/apps (like Clash of Clans etc) and seemingly no lag in productivity apps unlike Bluestacks (like Google Drive). Since, it is based on Virtual Box, you can also configure the allotted RAM as per your convenience. [Free]

Official Android Emulator - Google provides an Android emulator as part of the Android Studio and  SDK Tool. But, this Android emulator is for developer purposes only and not user-friendly. It is a bit slow and isn’t a good option for everyday use. [Lollipop build source available to download]

Android on Intel Architecture -  Intel is developing its own project of Android for Intel Architecture with UEFI firmware. It lets you install Android in dual-boot with Windows, but this development won't work on every device as only Acer Iconia W700, Lenovo X220T, Lenovo X230T, Samsung XE700T are officially supported currently. [Android 4.4.2 build available to download]

Android-x86 - The most versatile and practical of the port-Android-to-PC projects. This project is to port Android to x86 architecture i.e. Intel and AMD processors, which means that it can be installed on your PC just like Windows or Ubuntu. It can be installed on the old laptop you have at home, but not using at the time or be Dual-booted with Windows/Ubuntu and even run on VM. It can also be installed on external Hard disk or even USB drive, making it portable as it can be booted from any laptop/desktop without data loss. [OpenSource, Android 4.4.2 stable build available to download, Android 5.0 Lollipop build under development]

If you have any questions or inputs, leave a comment below and I will get back to you.