Bochs (pronounced "box") is a third-party open-source application that allows users to emulate and run the Windows operating system on their Android devices. Bochs emulates the processor, disk, memory, BIOS and other basic PC hardware peripherals on Android devices, allowing you to boot and run Windows OS smoothly. If you are interested in using this app, you can easily install Bochs on your Android device.
Step
Part 1 of 2: Checking If Your Android Device Can Run Bochs App or Not
Step 1. Access your phone settings
To check the Android version of your device, tap "Settings" from the home screen to open your device's settings.
Step 2. View the basic information of your phone
Scroll down to the Settings screen and tap "About phone" at the bottom of the screen to see your device's specifications.
Step 3. Check the version
You can see which version of Android your device is currently running in the "About Phone" section. The system requirements are not very high. Your phone or tablet must be capable of running at least Android 2.2 (Froyo).
Part 2 of 2: Installing Bochs
Step 1. Download the APK and SDL files from the Bochs
You can download Bochs APK and SDL from this link:
- https://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1389700/.
- Click the link at the bottom of the page to download the file.
Step 2. Connect your Android phone to the computer
Take the data cable and connect it to the micro USB port on your Android device. Take the other end of the cable and plug it into a USB port on your computer.
Step 3. Access your phone memory
Open the Start menu then My Computer. In the window that appears, you will find the drives connected to your PC; click on your phone memory drive to access it.
Step 4. Copy the file
Drag the Bochs APK file from its location on your computer into your phone's memory or on your micro SD card.
Step 5. Install Bochs using a file manager application (file explorer)
Tap your file manager icon (apps like My Files, File Manager, etc.) from your phone's apps screen. Then this application will display your phone's folder directory, which is similar to how My Computer looks on a Windows computer.
- Within the file manager app, navigate to the location where you copied the Bochs APK file in your phone's storage area and tap the file to open it. The APK will start installing itself on your phone and after that you will see the Bochs icon appear on your phone screen.
- A file manager app comes pre-installed on every Android device. If your phone doesn't have it, you can download the file manager app for free from this link:
Step 6. Extract the SDL folder you have downloaded
The SDL file will be in a compressed ZIP folder. Right-click the ZIP folder and select "Extract" from the menu that appears.
Step 7. Copy the SDL folder
Drag the contents of the SDL folder that you extracted into your phone memory or micro SD card, preferably where you also copied the Bochs APK in step 3, or anywhere that is easily accessible using a file manager app on your phone or computer.
Step 8. Run Bochs
Tap the Bochs home screen icon to launch the app.
Tips
- APK files are compressed Android app installer files that can be installed on your device without using any app market.
- SDL (Specification and Description Language) is a kind of programming language used to build system processes. In this case, SDL is used together with the Bochs application to build PC processes on your Android device.
- Bochs can be installed on any Android device without modifying the OS you are currently using. If you want to emulate the Windows OS on your Android device, you'll need to have a Windows Image file that you can run using Bochs.
