How to run Linux distribution on Android

Android is an OpenSource system, which means that it offers us almost unlimited possibilities. One option is to install and run Linux distributions on Android devices. It can also be installed, for example. Windows XP but I will not write about it here.

In this post, I will show you how to run some Linux distributions on your Android device. And the distributions you can run are Ubuntu (10 and 12), Backtrack 10, Debian, ArchLinux, Fedora, Kali Linux, and openSUSE 12.

You will need:

• a ROOTed Android device with ARMv7 processor,
• Terminal emulator
• VNC android viewer
• Complete Linux Installer  ("CLI")
• Torrent client
• AndroZip

Instruction:

1) Debugging

First of all, enable USB debugging in "Settings> Applications> Development" or "Settings> Development> USB debugging".

2) Distribution selection

Once you have installed all these applications, just run the Complete Linux Installer and allow Root access. Wait a few moments, then open the panel on the left and select "Install Guides". Now choose which distribution you want, I chose Ubuntu 12.

3) Download distribution

Now follow the steps, and read everything that is written in each step. When you go to Page 2 you will see a "Download Image" button, tap it. Now select the Torrent method to download. If you have chosen Ubuntu, you will be offered 3 versions - Core (system only), Small (system and LXDE desktop), or Large (system and Unity environment). I chose Small because it takes up less and LXDE is for weaker devices so it will work better.

So, download the download file and start the download from the Torrent client that started (which you installed). Below, in the CLI application, it says that you need to install VNC and terminal, but you have already done that.

4) Unpacking

When the download is complete, open AndroZip and find the .zip file of the system you downloaded (the default is the Download folder). Unzip .zip to the newly created folder on the internal memory (or SD card) with the name of the system you downloaded. In my case, I'll unpack it into a folder I called "ubuntu".

5) Work in the Terminal

Now return to the  CLI application and select "Launch" in the left panel and then the distribution you downloaded from the drop-down menu.

Your Terminal Emulator will start and now a short setup is starting. During setup you will be asked if you want to connect to VNC -y, if you want to connect to SSH -n, then you need to enter 2x the password you want, the screen resolution of your device, and finally if you want to save those settings -y or n (if you don't save then you'll re-enter it all the next time you run it. That's a good option if you messed up something during setup).

6) Work in VNC

Now start the VNC (do not close the terminal), and from the data enter the following:

• Nickname: what do you want
• Password: the one you entered in the terminal
• Address: localhost
• Color format: 24-bit

leave the rest as is and select "Connect". You have launched Linux distro on Android! Congratulations!

I ran Ubuntu on Galaxy S2 and Backtrack on Note 10.1