There are plenty advantages of the free of cost and open-source Linux. One of the various assets of Linux is that Linux distributions are available which you can pick from for use. Almost all the Linux distributing operating system has the ability to boot and run the OS from the installation media such as USB. What if your Android Phone replaces USB?
You will be curious that why you would want to do this and what is the need for this. Well all credit goes to an awesome app known as DriveDroid. So let’s discuss every point one by one.
Why you should use Android Phone to boot Linux on PC..??
  • You don’t have to carry a separate USB Flash Drive with you all the time. You can easily use your Android Phone instead, which you carry everywhere.
  • Your phone will have all the advantages of a bootable Linux USB flash drive, like a personal work environment.
Basic Requirements
  • Rooted Android phone with DriveDroid app installed.
  • USB cable to connect phone to PC.
  • Rufus, a free bootable media creation tool.
  • ISO file of the Linux distro, which you want to boot on PC.
Setup DriveDroid
  • Step 1: launch DriveDroid and go to the App’s settings > USB settings > USB setup wizard. And complete the self explained steps in the wizard.
    Proceed > acquire root > I plugged in the USB cable > proceed > standard android kernel > I see a USB drive, proceed > DriveDroid booted successfully, proceed > close wizard.
  • Step 2: Tap on the “+” icon in DriveDroid’s option bar and select create blank image.
  • Step 3: Now specify a descriptive name for the blank image as well as the size of the image. Generally image size should be a bit more than the ISO file size of Linux distro that you want to use. And don’t forget to un-check the partition table (MBR) option, and proceed to next step.
  • Step 4: Now wait until the disk image is created. When finished, tap on it and the Host image popup dialog box comes up, and select the writeable USB option.
  • Step 5: Connect your Android phone to the PC using USB cable, and run Rufus. It will show the phone’s internal storage, generally with No_LABEL name. Against the create a bootable disk image using option, select ISO image, and use the button next to it to specify the ISO of Linux distro that you have saved on your PC. Finally, click start to begin burning the ISO file to the phone.
  • Step 6: Now reboot the PC and the Linux distro will be booted up through the android phone, using the phone as the first boot USB device.
More features of DriveDroid
  • Directly download ISO images of over 35 different Linux distro on your phone. It’s useful when you don’t have the ISO file.
  • Install multiple Linux distro on PC, straight from your android phone.
  • Boot windows 10, 8 and 7 on PC, via Android phone.
Majority of the rooted android phones work with the DriveDroid perfectly, but there is a chance that it don’t work on some devices because DriveDroid uses some features of the Android kernel that might not be available on certain android phones. Make sure you don’t use DriveDroid while the phone’s SD card is being used on the PC, as this can cause data loss.

TAGS :