How To Use Android As Your Computer's Operating System

" Leaving your your Android smartphone does not create a barrier to using Android "

Rather than missing all those Android App on your PC, or laptop, consider Android as your Operating System. Sometimes we will have the urge of using that Twitter or Facebook App on our PC, even those HD Android games are irresistible. Although Android is our smartphone's operating system but we still think it will be much better on computers.

Nevertheless, you should thank the development of Android-x86, a build of Android that is tailored to machines running Intel and AMD processors, rather than the ARM-based CPUs of Android hardware. Installation is somehow easy and straightforward, although:

1.You'll get better results on a machine with a touch sensitive display, even with the mouse attached.

2. If you get it wrong, it could result to the loss of personal data, so it's a good idea to try  Android-x86 in a Virtual Machine first before proceeding with a full install.

FEATURES

Android 4.4 KitKat has support for USB keyboards and your mouse, so you shouldn’t have any problem finding your way around. Some shortcuts are available, however. For instance, the Esc key will exit out of apps, while the Windows key will return you to the homescreen. During installation to hard-disk, Android-x86 support ext3,ext2,ntfs,fat32 extensions.

REQUIREMENTS

1. A new partition on your Windows computer.

 To create a new partition, open the DiskManagement (hold the Windows key, pressing R,then entering diskmgmt.msc) and right-clicking your hard diskdrive. After that select Shrink Volume, reduce by 8GB and then create a new 8GB partition.

2. Download Android (adf.ly/1eSeey) and find the version of 4.4 KitKat you want to download. Some notebooks/netbooks have dedicated builds of Android-x86, so these are recommended for corresponding hardware.

3. A USB flash device or an optical disc.

HOW TO MAKE ANDROID YOUR COMPUTER OS

1. Once you have downloaded your device Android. Burn to optical disc or write to USB flash device using UNetbootin.

2. Now insert the disc and restart your computer to boot from the DVD or otherwise use the USB device.

If you’re using Windows 8 you may need to open Settings>Change PC settings>Update and Recovery>Recovery and select Restart now to select the USB device with Android-x86 on.

3. You can preview how the android will look like. If you love it then proceed.

To preview, there are three Live CD options available, so using the keyboard, select the first – ‘Run Android-x86 without installation’. If you have display issues, reboot and select ‘Live CD – VESA mode’.

4. If you are captivated by the results of the Live CD version of Android-x86, reboot again using the hardware power switch.

 On the installation CD menu select ‘Installation – Install Android-x86 to harddisk’. You’ll be prompted to select a partition. To install locally, select ‘Create/Modify partitions’.

5. After step 4, the disk formatting tool will display available partitions and space.

Use the arrow keys to select New and create a new partition, setting it as Primary and tap Enter again to select the partition. Select Bootable to make the partition bootable and Write, confirming with Yes.

6. Exit the disk formatting app with Quit and select the new partition in the new screen. Follow this by selecting the ext3 file system and confirm the selection, paying attention to the warning that any existing data on the partition will be deleted. Then select Yes to proceed.

7. After that Install system directory.

Select Yes to install GRUB and again to add Windows to your boot menu. Finally, select Yes to set-up the /system directory as read-write. This will increase the installation time, but is best for debugging. Then Android will begin installing.

8. Now your computer is on Android. You should see a message confirming a successful installation. Select ‘Run Android-x86’ to boot the newly installed mobile operating system. Soon you’ll see the usual Android set-up screen, asking you to set a language, connect to Wi-Fi and sign-in with your usual credentials.

That is all about making Android as PC's Operating System.

Guest Post:
Written by Helyz Akande who blogs at helyzakande.com
You can follow him on twitter @helyz_akande
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