HAXM install error; unknown error; Xamarin Phoneword app

Originally posted on: http://geekswithblogs.net/BlueProbe/archive/2014/11/30/160418.aspx

So my first round of playing with Android development using Eclipse was OK, but not stellar. I thought I’d try Xamarin Studio (free for small apps/personal use). But after running through the how-to I got to the point where I was to deploy it to an emulator, and here is where the multi-hour nightmare began. So I hope this saves you some steps.

1. There is a fix out on the Intel site which may help.
2. Make sure you have VT-x turned on in you Bios.
3. You can always just install an ARM System Imager from the Android SDK manager in Xamarin. It is only the x86 stuff that got us going down this road anyway (it’s faster than the ARM emulator.
4. BEST ANSWER – install the Genymotion Android Emulator. It launches quickly and runs fast.