How to install Android OS on a PC using VirtualBox: The success of Android OS cannot be over emphasized and anyone who has used an Android device will testify to its uniqueness and usefulness. Some people love Android devices but cannot afford to buy one, so the best alternative is installing it on their PC. Android 4.2 Jelly Bean OS offers enormous features that I can’t resist trying it out on my PC. If you are wondering why should I use Android OS on a PC? There are countless reasons why but that’s not really the scope of this article.
Android 4.1 Jelly Bean OS features great UI, better HTML5 video support, improved font positioning, Wi-Fi direct support, voice typing, and many more features that bring about better user experience. You can read more about Android 4.1 Jelly Bean here.
How to install Android OS on a PC using VirtualBox:
As much as there are so many methods of installing Android 4.2 Jelly Bean OS on a PC my best method is with VirtualBox. Android virtualization is made possible using VirtualBox. VirtualBox is a basic tool you will need in running an Android 4.2 Jelly Bean OS on a PC. Simply follow the guide here to install Android 4.2 Jelly Bean OS on your PC using VirtualBox. Now let’s get started….
Things we will need…..
Install the just downloaded VirtualBox on your PC and on completion of installation proceed to the installation of the Android OS on the virtual machine.
Installing the Android OS on VirtualBox:
Launch the VirtualBox
Click on ‘NEW’ and click next
Name your OS anything you want and select Linux in Operating system
Select ‘Other Linux or Linux 2.6’ for the Version and click Next
Specify the amount of RAM you want for your Android OS (1GB is recommended) and click Next
Select ‘Create a virtual hard drive now’ and click ‘Create’
Select VDI (VirtualBox Disk Image) and click Next
Choose Dynamic allocated for the Storage on Physical Hard Drive and click Next
Choose the size of your Hard disk and click ‘Create’.
On the VirtualBox interface, click the OS you just created and click the ‘Settings’ button on the Menu.
Click on Storage and choose the virtual CD/DVD drive, Select the Disk-like Image near the CD/DVD Drive attributes
Select ‘Choose a virtual CD/DVD disk file’ and locate the Android ISO file you downloaded earlier and click Ok.
The click on the Android OS on the VirtualBox interface and click the ‘Start’ button to start the Android Virtual Machine.
Choose installation option to install the Android on the hard disk
When it gets to choose partition, select Create/Modify partitions
Select New >> Primary >>Bootable >>Write and Type yes when you are asked to verify command and then Quit when it’s done writing on the partition.
Choose the newly created partition, next choose ext3 format to format the partition and select yes to confirm.
Then the partition will be formatted quickly.
Then choose ‘Yes’ to confirm the installation of boot loader GRUB and ‘No’ on the next question.
Then the Android OS will be installed, you can then run it now.
Reboot the virtual machine and un-mount the Android generic ISO so the machine will not boot through the mounted disk again.
Follow the steps in this tutorial carefully and you will be able to learn how to install Android OS on a PC using VirtualBox. Now i hope you can install Android OS on your PC using VirtualBox, if you have any questions or contributions to this tutorial, please use the comment form below, i will be very glad to assist you in any way i can. Remember to subscribe to my RSS feed.
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Thanks for sharing very nice article quite useful for me i would like to ask you bro i tried to send free SmS with the site featured on your blog just wondering if it works in Morocco
I sent you a Guestpost please check it out thanks
Yes the site is worldwide….and i will review your post for publication.
pls after installing the os will it affect my window operating system and will i be able to use watsapp with it
thanks
It can’t affect your Windows OS since it is operating with a virtual environment with the VirtualBox and you can use any Android app on it.
is it compulsory for me to download the android bootable file before installing the virtual box?
yes because you will need it…
thanks have installed the virtual box but pls i do i un-mount android generic iso? and how do i install the watsapp with the virtualbox
Yes you can un-mount it once you are done with the installation else it wont boot completely and then you can download Whatsapp from the Google Play Store.
i still dont get the word un-mount so how will i knw that have unmount it…….and must i go to google play store because i downloaded the watsapp and from watsapp official site and i choose android but iit didnt install on my pc
There is a video on this article, please watch it
My installation, it freeze at this point.
I can not to use the mouse/keyboard.
After a time, the installation restart.
Can you help me?
At what point exactly does your installation stop? Carefully follow the guide and you will successfully install Android OS o your virtual machine.
At this point from your guide:
“When it gets to choose partition, select Create/Modify partitions”
watch the video attached to the tutorial for guide.
Thank you, Nwosu, by your video.
My installatior freeze at this point:
http://comvir.org/big/x/20130819a.png
The video explains all the processes to successfully install an Android OS on a virtual machine.
I followed all d instructions carefully and after installation it brought up d link with Run andriod-x86 ,Create a fake SD card and Reboot , but wen I Run d andriod it shows some writing comands in progress and it stops,I donno wat to do and wen I tried reboot it still brings d installation link with none to just load d andriod except for load without installation or d install , even after unmounting d image file, it won’t even load again,it says dere is noting to load. What do I do?
The video is self explanatory.
i download both the bootable iso and d virtualbox, and ready for installation. The only problem is dat i can’t install d virtualbox as my system(laptop) does nt recognise d file. Notting to open it d app or no app to open d virtualbox. Please i need ur advice. Thanks
What file extension is it? It may be a rar file, so you may have to extract it.
The file extension is dmg.haven’t seen anytin like dat before,don’t know if u have anoda link whr i. Can download a better one? Or an app dat opens dat file extension. Thanks
The links are in the post….
Find the link in the article.