As mobile devices have become one-size-fits-all, the number of apps and features available on them it is much broader than in Windows and macOS and it is increasingly difficult to find specific applications for desktop ecosystems.
The simplest solution to this problem is to install Android, the most widespread operating system in the world, in order to be able to use the applications available in this ecosystem on a computer managed by Windows. To carry out this process, it is best to use a virtual machine like VirtualBox.
What is VirtualBox
VirtualBox is an application that allows us install any operating system on a Windows PC virtually, that is, using our hard drive as if it were one more application instead of dedicating a partition of the hard drive to use solely and exclusively with Android.
When creating a virtual machine, we are creating a virtual machine in which simulate internal components based on the configuration of our equipment, such as RAM memory, storage space, the number of cores we want to use ...
You are probably thinking that for that we already have a large number of Android emulators that allow us to enjoy any game or application on our PC or Mac. However, thanks to VirtualBox, we have at our disposal a full version of Android, not the version that is offered by developers of Android emulators oriented to play.
How to download VirtualBox
VirtualBox is completely free software that Oracle makes available to all users interested in virtualize any operating system on Windows or macOS.
To avoid problems and that some software with malicious intentions sneaks into our computer, to download VirtualBox it is best go directly to the developer's website through this link.
Do not use any other web page that they act as an intermediary, creating an installation software that includes applications that we will never use or even malware or spyware.
How to install VirtualBox
Once we have downloaded the application, we must proceed to install by clicking twice on it and following the steps shown on the screen. If you do not know how VirtualBox works, we recommend clicking Next until the installation begins.
Install Android with VirtualBox
Once we have installed VirtualBox on our computer, the time has come to install android. The first thing we must do is download the version of Android that we want to install on our computer.
As to download the original VirtualBox file, it is advisable to go to the developer's website, Oracle, to download Android, it is advisable to do it from the project website, that is, from the website of Android x86.
While is true that It is not the only project that allows us to download an Android version That fits a computer, this is the most popular and used all over the world.
As we can read on their website:
This is a project to port the Android open source project to the x86 platform. The original plan is to host different patches for android x86 support from the open source community. A few months after creating the project, we discovered that we could do a lot more than host patches. So we decided to create our code base to provide support on different x86 platforms, and set up a server to host it.
This is an open source project licensed by Apache Public License 2.0. Some components are licensed under the GNU General Public License (GPL) 2.0 or later. If you think we've done something great, consider making a donation.
When clicking on the Download button, the web will not direct a section where the different versions of Android that it makes available to us are located, versions available for 32-bit and 64-bit computers.
If your equipment is modernYou must install the 64-bit version, as it will allow you to get the most out of Android.
Create a virtual machine for Android
The first thing we must do to install Android with VirtualBox is to create a virtual machine, a virtual machine where we are going to install Android, for this we go to the top menu, click on New and then the different options that we can set will be shown, options that you I show below:
- Name: In this section we must establish the name with which we want to identify the version of Android that we are going to install on our computer.
- Machine folder: We select the directory where we want to install Android.
- Type: We must select Linux
- Version: Here we must select Linux 2.6 / 3x / 4x along with the architecture of the Android version that we have selected (32 or 64 bits)
- Memory size: The more sugar, the sweeter. The greater the amount of RAM, the better performance this version will offer us. From this project, they affirm that at least 2 GB of RAM is necessary.
- HDD: In this option, if we have not previously created a virtual machine to install another operating system, we must select the option Create a virtual hard disk now.
Install Android in VirtualBox
Once we have created the virtual machine, we go to the Start option located at the top of the application. The application will ask us from which unit we want to start. At that moment, we select the ISO that we have downloaded for the installation to begin.
Once we have selected the ISO that we have downloaded, we wait for the installation to start and the upper screen is displayed, where we must select Installation - Install Android-86 to hardisk.
Next, it will ask us in which unit we want to install it. In this menu, we select the option Create/Modify partitions. Next, it will ask us if we want to use GPT (Do you want to use GPT) to which we must answer No.
Next, we must create a share on the virtual hard disk through the New - Primary option and choose the Bootable - Write option and finally confirm the changes by typing Yes and pressing the Enter key.
Once we have created the partition, it is shown in the list of partitions available to install Android. Before we begin, we must format it with ext4 format and confirm that we want the GRUB boot loader and in the next window, we confirm the read and write permissions.
A confirmed those permissions, the installation will begin, an installation that may take more or less time depending on the power of our equipment.
Use Android on PC with VirtualBox
Once we have successfully completed the installation, a welcome screen will be displayed in which we have to select the system language and the wireless connections to connect to the internet.
If you have a laptop with a touch screen, you can do it by clicking on the screen. If not, you can interact with this virtual machine via mouse and keyboard.