It’s not terribly complicated to install, especially if you’ve installed some form of Linux in the past. Let’s walk through the process, then briefly explore Android on the netbook.
Features of Android 5.0.2 x86 Lollipop for Computer/Laptops:
- Integration of the ffmpeg as the stagefright-plugins to support much more multimedia files. Now we can play HD and full HD videos in apps.
- Use the latest longterm stable kernel 3.10.30 with more drivers enabled. Most netbooks can run Android-x86 in the native resolution.
- OpenGL ES hardware acceleration for AMD Radeon and Intel chipsets (not include the PowerVR chips).
- Enhance the installer to support upgrade from previous versions (since ics-x86). The text based GUI installer supports ext3/ext2/ntfs/fat32 filesystems.
- KitKat style lanucher (Launcher3).
- Support Multi-touch, Wifi, Audio, Bluetooth, G-sensor and Camera.
- Simulate sdcard by internal storage.
- External usb drive and sdcard are auto mounted to /storage/usbX on plugging.
- Support hybrid mode of iso images.
- Multi-user support (max 8).
- Support Ethernet (DHCP only).
- Support VM like Qemu and VMware.
Step One: Download Androidx86 5.0.2-RC1 KitKat.iso
To get started, head to the Androidx86 project page. You’ll find the download here, but make sure you download the latest version: 5.0.2, better known as Lollipop.
There is only one versions of 5.0.2 offered and it runs smoothly on almost every Laptop and netbook with 32-Bit.
Desktop users: it’s probably not worth trying if you own a 64-Bit Machine but if you have a 32-bit or x86 based machine then Go Ahead.
Step Two: Copy To A Flash Drive
Now that you found the ISO file you need, it’s time to write it to a USB drive so you can boot from it. There are two main programs for doing this: UNetBootIn, which is cross platform, and Linux Live, which is only for Windows but very straightforward.
Use whichever you prefer; just copy the contents of the ISO to a flash drive. It doesn’t need to be huge: 1 GB should do it.
Step Three: Install
Now that you’ve got your USB drive, it’s time to boot from it. You’ll see this boot screen:
If you just want to try out Android, go ahead and select the LiveCD mode. You won’t be able to save any customizing you do, of course, but it’s a good way to see how well Android works on your system.
If you’d rather get straight to installing Android, go ahead and pick the “Install” option. There’s not a lot of options for dual-booting built into the installer, so be warned: getting that working might take some skills on your part. See the Androidx86 installation instructions for more information. If you don’t care about losing your current OS, though, installation is straight-forward.