WINDOWS 10 AND AN ANDROID EMULATOR

[Carlh93]

The only emulator for Windows 10 that I know of is Blue Stacks. While this does work (for Apps normally running on a portable device via Google Android or Apple ios), it is very slow to load. This may be because it is an emulator intended primarily for gaming apps, which are of no interest to me, and runs adverts for apps of this type while loading. Possibly that it why it is so slow to load to run an ordinary App, or possibly it is inherently slow.

Question 1: I have Oracle's Virtual Box running on my Windows 10 desktop PC. The only VM that I have running is Windows XP, which is much used for some DOS programs that I rely on and which do not run in any versions of Windows later than XP.

Is it possible to run Android as a "foreign" OS in Virtual Box? To judge by how fast XP is loaded by the VB in my W 10 PC I suspect that the Android Apps which interest me should probably load much faster via that route, if available, than by using Blue Stacks.


Question 2: I have read that Apps will run in Windows 11, so does this have a built-in Android emulator, or what?


Question 3: I read on this form a good year or so ago (before W 11 was launched) that there were doubts about whether this OS (W 11) would allow Oracle Virtual Box to run. Does it, and, if does, can a copy of Windows XP can still loaded into the VB as a VM?

The reason for this question is that my Windows 10 PC is 7 years old, so I am increasingly concerned that it may break down any time now!

[scottgus1]

Q1: Android does run in Virtualbox. Only as an x86 build of Android, though, not a native ARM build. Virtualbox does not emulate an ARM processor. Compatibility with normal Android apps may suffer. And the OS itself may not be fully stable. (Experience: Android 8 & 9 would install, but I found it too unstable to run WhatsApp.)

Q2: You'll need to research this one on Microsoft forums and help channels. We'd only know Virtualbox-related things here for certain.

Q3: Windows 11 runs Virtualbox just fine, with the usual caveats about Microsoft Hyper-V running behind nearly everything Windows has nowadays. Hyper-V can usually be turned off, though. Or the VM may run with Hyper-V on, except at lower speed.

My present Windows 10 workstation is 14 years old and still plugging on strong.

[mpack]

My present Windows 10 workstation is 14 years old and still plugging on strong.

And even if the PC failed, I assume you have an image backup - Macrium or similar - so transferring the image to a new PC shouldn't be a big deal.

If you even care... it also isn't really a big deal to install Win10 from scratch, then install your apps as and when you miss them. Only practical if you have a habit of keeping app installers, as I do.

If you were running some bespoke app that requires Win2K, then maybe I'd worry about the PC failing. But Win10? It runs on any modern-ish PC.