OpenThos is the Android-based operating system that can provide a full-fledged Android X86 experience on PC with additional apps and functions. It is based on free and open-source (Foss) Android OS called Android-X86, although the base of both PC Android operating systems is the same, look and feel is quite different. The OpenThos looks very professional with Windows 10 like interfaces such as Taskbar, My computer icon, and right side notification panel.

However, programs like Mac Linux USB Loader can alleviate the difficulties of the task of booting a Linux-live USB on a Mac. This limitation could be fixed by either changing the Apple firmware to include a USB driver in BIOS mode, or changing the operating systems to remove the dependency on the BIOS. Real VNC offers a Free edition of their popular VNC Viewer that can be stored and run from a USB device as a “Portable VNC Viewer“.VNC or Virtual Network Computing, enables a user to remotely control any machine that is running a VNC Server. Nov 29, 2020 Bootable Pendrive acts as a supporter of a computer when it misbehaves. Sometimes when your PC or lappy lag very much and can’t handle to load Windows OS then Bootable Pendrive comes into the picture. Bootable Pendrive is mainly used to upgrade Windows 7, Windows 8 and Windows 10. When windows come across any virus or any other issue then it.

The OpenthOS is developed by Chinese developers and it is also an open-source project. If you are a developer, the source code of OpenthOS is available on GitHub.

However, programs like Mac Linux USB Loader can alleviate the difficulties of the task of booting a Linux-live USB on a Mac. This limitation could be fixed by either changing the Apple firmware to include a USB driver in BIOS mode, or changing the operating systems to remove the dependency on the BIOS. Aug 05, 2020 After all the steps, the pendrive is bootable, you can burn ISO file to the USB, or install Windows to the USB. Easier way to make pendrive bootable for Windows 10, 8, 7. Actually, there is an easier way to create a bootable pendrive - AOMEI Partition Assistant Professional. It provides 2 feature named 'Windows To Go Creator' and 'Make Bootable.

Personally, I have tried a couple of Andriod PC operating systems but this one is easy to use and quite stable than others. If you want to know about other available Android OS 32bit or 64-bit then here is the article:4 Best Foss Android OS for PC 64 bit or 32 bit

Well, coming to OpenThos, the latest version of this operating system while writing this article was 2.0. Officially this Android PC OS is present in both Chinese and English language which one can choose while installing it.

Foss OpenThos Features

• Secure and easy to use
• Application security sandbox
• Data partition file with access verification
• Pre-installed applications such as Microsoft Office, Command Terminal, WPS office, VLC player, Note, and more…
• Free, open-source OS based on Android-x86
• Linux/Windows 10 like Taskbar, Notification panel, File Explorer and icons.
• Great performance
• 60FPS drawing frame rate
• Intuitive Graphical user interface (GUI)
• Full disk encryption available
• UEFI Boot Manager (support for Windows, Linux and OS X)
• Apps optimization
• Sync with mobile devices login with the same Google account
• It supports Android apps and Linux apps in multi-Windows

OpenThos requirements of a system

• Need x86-based CPU
• 64-bit support
• At least 2Gb RAM recommended 4GB
• 8GB Storage at least if you are planning just for testing it. For personal or commercial use you need more to save files and apps installation; at least 50G-100G free space.

Download OpenThos OS for PC

The latest image of the OpenThos which is available to download is in Disc image file format i.e IMG not in ISO which might be a problem for someone. However, the older version 1.o is available in both ISO and IMG, I hope soon the 2.0 will also be available in ISO. Here is the link for OpenThos Download.

Create OpenThos bootable USB Drive

Step 1:

Once the download is completed, its time to put the OpenThos on a USB drive, so that we can install or use it live where ever we want.

Step 2:

Take at least 8GB of Pen Drive and insert it into the Windows 10 or Mac system.

Step 3:

Balena Etcher software to flash the OpenThos.IMG to Flash USB drive. It is available for both Windows and Mac. Here is the Download link for Etcher

Step 4:

Install the Etcher and run it. From its screen, click on the Select Image option and select the above-downloaded image of OpenThos and then select the USB drive which you want to make bootable. After these two things finally, click on the Flash button.

Step 5:

Once the flashing of Openthos OS is done. Eject the Pen drive and insert it to the System where you want to install it.

How to install Openthos

Insert the Openthos bootable USB drive to laptop or PC and boot it.

Note: You need to set the first boot priority to Removable drive.

When the OpenThos booted the first which appears with some Chinese text but don’t worry it will install in the English language.

Press F11 to get different booting options for OpenThos such as OpenThos Live boot, Live (DEBUG), and OpenThos Installation.

To experience this Android OS without installing select the Live option and to install on the Hard Drive using the Installation. After that just follow the guided instruction and it will install on the system.

OpenthOS review: Free Android PC OS

Design

The OpenthOS is one of the best Android PC OS, I have ever used. Even the Android x86 which is the based of this operating is not useful and optimized, like it. After the installation, the first screen which comes at the front is really awesome. The friendly Desktop environment as you can see in the below screenshot. Same familiar taskbar, Mu Computer icon, and start button which are very much like the Windows OS. So, those are used to Windows or Linux operating systems will not going to get any kind of problem in the OpenthOS free Android operating system.

Apps

The next thing is the access to apps. This is a cake of Pie, well designed, and easy to use. Just like Windows, when you click on the Start button given on the left bottom side you will all install apps including Settings, File Manager, and Power option like Windows 10. The best part is the apps. Out of the box, the system contains or should I say pre-installed all the basic apps which one needs in daily tasks such as a browser, command Terminal, WPS Office, Microsoft Word, Excel, Powerpoint; VLC player, Sound recorder, calculator, and more.

If you need any special Android app then you have two stores there: One is our regular Google play store, and another one is the Chinese AppStore; however, the Appstore would not be feasible in usage for English language users because most of the available apps in it are in the Chinese language.

Performance

We have installed and tested the latest Verison of the OpenThos which was available while creating this article: Version 2.0. It based on Android 5.1.1(Lolipop). The Gigabyte motherboard and Intel Pentium R process 3.2GHz and RAM 4GB was the test system of ours.

At this configuration, the OpenThOS Android PC operating system was quite smooth without any lags. Yes, while heavy multitasking some time the UI gets crashed and all running apps closed; which sometimes could be a problem for heavy multitasking users. However, if you are a moderate user then no problem at all. Another issue which we faced, it could not recognize my sound card by default. And to enable it, we need to run a couple of commands from the Terminal available in it. Also, few things such as Display Brightness control and other hardcore settings feature didn’t work obviously because they natively meant for smartphones.

As I said you can install any app from the available Google Play store but the big question rises which so many users are looking for? Can OpenthOS run the PUBG? So, the answer is NO.

I said this because it perfectly had downloaded the PUBG in my case but after the installing, it was unable to run. When I tried to run it, the Game opened and automatically stopped. I tried 8- 9 times but the same thing had happened…

So, you can’t run the PUBG but other normal games including Asphalt can be run on it. However, this problem will not be with apps, almost all apps run normally and fluently.

Linux Apps

Apart from Android apps, one can also install and use Linux apps. As it supports Debian or Ubuntu-based software. I tried to install the VIM and Nano text editor on it and didn’t find any issue.

Even you can download and run the Apache server on it using the command Terminal.

To install and update packages, the command is:

It supports Ubuntu’s Advanced Packaging Tool (APT)

So, overall being a free and open-source system, we don’t have any complaints because it is better than Phoenix and the original Android X86 OS. If you compare the Openthos and Phoenix os both are popular Andoird operating systems and based on the original Android X86 project. The OpenthOS is better because of functionality and ease of use including performance. The thing which might be put newbies in a bit chaos is its Disk image file i.e is available in IMG format not in ISO; I am saying this because most of the Virtual Machines support this format. So, even for testing this Android operating system; we have to make OpenthOS bootable Pendrive first. But I am sure, in the upcoming months, the ISO image of its latest version will be available too.

Other Resoruces

A live USB is a USB flash drive or external hard disk drive containing a full operating system that can be booted. They are the evolutionary next step after live CDs, but with the added benefit of writable storage, allowing customizations to the booted operating system. Live USBs can be used in embedded systems for system administration, data recovery, or test driving, and can persistently save settings and install software packages on the USB device.

Many operating systems including Mac OS 9, macOS, Windows XP Embedded and a large portion of Linux and BSD distributions can run from a USB flash drive, and Windows 8 Enterprise has a feature titled Windows To Go for a similar purpose.

Background[edit]

To repair a computer with booting issues, technicians often use lightweight operating systems on bootable media and a command-line interface. The development of the first live CDs with graphical user interface made it feasible for non-technicians to repair malfunctioning computers. Most Live CDs are Linux-based, and in addition to repairing computers, these would occasionally be used in their own right as operating systems.

Personal computers introduced USB booting in the early 2000s, with the Macintosh computers introducing the functionality in 1999 beginning with the Power Mac G4 with AGP graphics and the slot-loading iMac G3 models.^[1] Intel-based Macs carried this functionality over with booting macOS from USB.^[2] Specialized USB-based booting was proposed by IBM in 2004 with Reincarnating PCs with Portable SoulPads and Boot GNU/Linux from a FireWire device.^[3][4]

Benefits and limitations[edit]

Live USBs share many of the benefits and limitations of live CDs, and also incorporate their own.

Benefits[edit]

• In contrast to live CDs, the data contained on the booting device can be changed and additional data stored on the same device. A user can carry their preferred operating system, applications, configuration, and personal files with them, making it easy to share a single system between multiple users.
• Live USBs provide the additional benefit of enhanced privacy because users can easily carry the USB device with them or store it in a secure location (e.g. a safe), reducing the opportunities for others to access their data. On the other hand, a USB device is easily lost or stolen, so data encryption and backup is even more important than with a typical desktop system.
• The absence of moving parts in USB flash devices allows true random access, thereby avoiding the rotational latency and seek time of hard drives or optical media, meaning small programs will start faster from a USB flash drive than from a local hard disk or live CD. However, as USB devices typically achieve lower data transfer rates than internal hard drives, booting from older computers that lack support for USB 2.0 or newer can be very slow.

Limitations[edit]

• LiveUSB OSes like Ubuntu Linux apply all filesystem writes to a casper filesystem overlay (casper-rw) that, once full or out of flash drive space, becomes unusable and the OS ceases to boot.
• USB controllers on add-in cards (e.g. ISA, PCI, and PCI-E) are almost never capable of being booted from, so systems that do not have native USB controllers in their chipset (e.g. such as older ones before USB) likely will be unable to boot from USB even when USB is enabled via such an add-in card.
• Some computers, particularly older ones, may not have a BIOS that supports USB booting. Many which do support USB booting may still be unable to boot the device in question. In these cases a computer can often be 'redirected' to boot from a USB device through use of an initial bootable CD or floppy disk.^[5][6][7]
• Some Intel-based Macintosh computers have limitations when booting from USB devices – while the Extensible Firmware Interface (EFI) firmware can recognize and boot from USB drives, it can do this only in EFI mode. When the firmware switches to 'legacy' BIOS mode, it no longer recognizes USB drives. Non-Macintosh systems, notably Windows and Linux, may not be typically booted in EFI mode and thus USB booting may be limited to supported hardware and software combinations that can easily be booted via EFI.^[8] However, programs like Mac Linux USB Loader can alleviate the difficulties of the task of booting a Linux-live USB on a Mac. This limitation could be fixed by either changing the Apple firmware to include a USB driver in BIOS mode, or changing the operating systems to remove the dependency on the BIOS.
• Due to the additional write cycles that occur on a full-blown installation, the life of the flash drive may be slightly reduced. This doesn't apply to systems particularly designed for live systems which keep all changes in RAM until the user logs off.^[9] A write-locked SD card (known as a Live SD, the solid-state counterpart to a live CD) in a USB flash card reader adapter is an effective way to avoid any duty cycles on the flash medium from writes and circumvent this problem. The SD card as a WORM device has an essentially unlimited life. An OS such as Linux can then run from the live USB/SD card and use conventional media for writing, such as magnetic disks, to preserve system changes; .

Setup[edit]

Various applications exist to create live USBs; examples include Rufus, Fedora Live USB Creator, UNetbootin, WinToUSB, Win32DiskImager, and YUMI, which works with a variety of distributions. A few Linux distributions and live CDs have ready-made scripts which perform the steps below automatically. In addition, on Knoppix and Ubuntu extra applications can be installed, and a persistentfile system can be used to store changes. A base install ranges between as little as 16 MiB (Tiny Core Linux) to a large DVD-sized install (4 gigabytes).

To set up a live USB system for commodity PC hardware, the following steps must be taken:

• A USB flash drive needs to be connected to the system, and be detected by it
• One or more partitions may need to be created on the USB flash drive
• The 'bootable' flag must be set on the primary partition on the USB flash drive
• An MBR must be written to the primary partition of the USB flash drive
• The partition must be formatted (most often in FAT32 format, but other file systems can be used too)
• A bootloader must be installed to the partition (most often using syslinux when installing a Linux system)
• A bootloader configuration file (if used) must be written
• The necessary files of the operating system and default applications must be copied to the USB flash drive
• Language and keyboard files (if used) must be written to the USB flash drive
• USB support in the BIOS’s boot menu (although there are ways to get around this; actual use of a CD or DVD can allow the user to choose if the medium can later be written to. Write Once Read Many discs allow certainty that the live system will be clean the next time it is rebooted.)

Knoppix live CDs have a utility that, on boot, allows users to declare their intent to write the operating system's file structures either temporarily, to a RAM disk, or permanently, on disk or flash media to preserve any added configurations and security updates. This can be easier than recreating the USB system but may be moot since many live USB tools are simple to use.

Full installation[edit]

An alternative to a live solution is a traditional operating system installation with the elimination of swap partitions. This installation has the advantage of being efficient for the software, as a live installation would still contain software removed from the persistent file due to the operating system’s installer still being included with the media. However, a full installation is not without disadvantages; due to the additional write cycles that occur on a full installation, the life of the flash drive may be slightly reduced. To mitigate this, some live systems are designed to store changes in RAM until the user powers down the system, which then writes such changes. Another factor is if the speed of the storage device is poor; performance can be comparable to legacy computers even on machines with modern parts if the flash drive transfers such speeds. One way to solve this is to use a USB hard drive, as they generally give better performance than flash drives regardless of the connector.

Microsoft Windows[edit]

Although many live USBs rely on booting an open-source operating system such as Linux, it is possible to create live USBs for Microsoft Windows by using Diskpart^{[citation needed]} or WinToUSB.^[10]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

1. ^'USB Info and Benefits of Dual-Channel USB'. Apple (published February 20, 2012). September 16, 2003. Archived from the original on May 12, 2013. Retrieved September 25, 2016. Bootable USB drives: A storage device such as a SuperDisk, Zip disk, or other USB storage drive can be used to hold a valid system folder and used at startup.
2. ^'Starting from an external USB storage device (Intel-based Macs)'. Apple. March 22, 2016. Archived from the original on May 22, 2016. Retrieved September 25, 2016.
3. ^Singer, Michael (August 15, 2005). 'IBM brains capture a PC's soul'. CNET. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on September 27, 2016. Retrieved September 25, 2016.
4. ^Honeyford, Martyn (July 15, 2004). 'Boot Linux from a FireWire device'. IBM DeveloperWorks. IBM. Archived from the original on January 17, 2007. Retrieved May 15, 2016.
5. ^Trevor (May 6, 2010). 'Boot from a USB Drive Even If Your BIOS Won't Let You'. How-To Geek. Archived from the original on September 23, 2016. Retrieved September 25, 2016.
6. ^'Plop Boot Manager'. February 7, 2012. Retrieved September 25, 2016.
7. ^'Use a Floppy to Boot USB Pendrive Linux'. Pen Drive Linux. 2007-11-21. Retrieved September 25, 2016.
8. ^knome (December 14, 2013). 'MactelSupportTeam/EFI-Boot-Mactel'. Ubuntu Community Help Wiki. Canonical Ltd. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved September 25, 2016.
9. ^'XFCE minimum install HD'. Linux Mint Forums. Archived from the original on September 27, 2016. Retrieved September 25, 2016. Live cd only write to the swap partition if your pc has one.
   If it doesn't it'll only use your RAM.
10. ^Gordon, Whitson. 'How to Run a Portable Version of Windows from a USB Drive'. Lifehacker. Gawker Media. Archived from the original on September 25, 2016. Retrieved September 25, 2016.

External links[edit]

Mac Os Iso To Usb Bootable Software

Mac Os Bootable Pen Drive software, free download