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 prefer to use both operating systems on one machine. Here is some information that can help you learn how to dual boot Android and Windows.
Benefits of dual boot Android and Windows
Even though the dual-boot process takes time, the overall performance is better than running Android apps using an emulator. Also, not all apps can run on an emulator.
How to dual boot Windows and Android
1. Download the 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 for the latest version of Android x86.
Choose Fosshub mirror or OSDN mirror to get the download link. On the ISO OSDN page, select android-x86-9.0-r2.iso, which is the Android x86 64-bit ISO file. Then download it.
On the Fosshub ISO page, select the Android-x86 64-bit ISO file and download. The ISO files you upload to the mirror pages are basically the same.
2. Download a Flashing tool
After the Android x86 ISO file download is complete, the next thing 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 website 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.Android x86 ISO Flash to USB Flash Drive
To flash, go to downloads, open the downloaded Rufus flash tool and run it. Once the file is executed, it will show you an empty device drop-down list. The next thing you will do is insert a USB drive into your computer’s USB slot.
The flashing tool will detect the inserted flash drive and you will see it listed in the “Device” drop-down list. After that, click “Select” and navigate to the previously downloaded Android x86 ISO file from downloads.
Choose the default Flash player label or rename it if you want, then click “Start.” For compatibility reasons, allow Rufus to download additional system files, then click “OK” to continue. Choose “Write in ISO image mode” and click “OK” to flash the flash drive.
When the Flash player is successfully flashed, click “Close” when the window shows the “Ready” status.
4. Partition Windows to free up disk space
Partitioning helps organize files, applications and folders in 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 drive partitions”.
From the list of hard drives, choose the one you want to partition. Right-click on it and select “Shrink” option to free up disk space. Enter the amount of free space you want to allocate, then wait for the process to complete. You will see a new unallocated space next to the corresponding physical drive.
5. Boot from the bootable flash drive
To do this, restart your machine. Enter BIOS or UEFI setup at system startup by pressing a designated key (F12, F10, Esc, or F9) depending on the PC model you are using. Go to boot device settings and choose to boot from 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 Enter.
6. Finally, install Android x86 on PC
After the system boots from the USB drive successfully, an Android x86 boot screen is displayed. Click on “Enter” then proceed with the installation by pressing “Install Android-x86 to hard disk”. It will start the installation process and a list of existing partitions will be displayed.
Choose the partition you created earlier and click “Enter”. Select “ext4” as the file system for formatting and continue. Press to install the GRUB boot loader and select “Yes” to boot an item in the Grub boot loader. Accept the default settings and start the installation.
When you are done, you will be given the option to “Restart” or “Run Android x86”. Eject the flash drive, then restart the system. On reboot, the system will ask you if you want to boot into Android x86 or Windows operating system.
Alternatives to dual boot Android and Windows
Use Bluestacks
Bluestacks is the most popular emulator that runs Android specific apps or games. It works in Windows like any other Windows program. Once you’ve installed it, you can open and run it in a window on your PC. It allows easy and seamless installation of applications from Google Play.
The performance is not up to par with Android and dual-booted Windows, but it is rather stable and suitable for an average user. Unlike many other emulators, the main advantages of a Bluestacks emulator are ease of installation and fairly good speed. You can also try other emulators like YouWave and Windroy which are also quite stable.
Official Google Android Emulator
This emulator is part of the Android SDK and is mainly used by Android developers to test their apps. It gives you access to the full configuration of the Android operating system and you can run it in a window of your PC.
The emulator is specially designed for testing apps and the latest versions of Android, but not for normal app usage. It is rather slow, so you cannot use it for activities like playing games. To install and run it, download the Android SDK from Google.
Android on Intel architecture
Newer Intel PCs with UEFI firmware use this architecture to run Android. Android-IA comes with an installer that lets 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 Android-IA unless you have a supported device.
Conclusion
Dual booting Android and Windows to run on the same PC isn’t that complicated. But that doesn’t mean you can run both operating systems simultaneously. You can only start on one operating system at a time.