After several days of attempts and findings, finally, I managed to install Mac OS X Snow Leopard on VirtualBox with my Windows OS PC. We are going to use the original OS medium for this installation purpose. That will give the freedom to have the vanilla kernel and possible software updates from the official Apple website.
This method is completely for testing and learning purposes. Please buy the original Mac OS and Apple hardware. From version 3.2, the Oracle VirtualBox officially supports Mac OS X as the guest virtual machine on Apple hardware. So, technically you can virtualize macOS on Apple devices only. But still, we can do some workarounds to install Mac OS X on non-Apple hardware with different bootloaders on Windows computers.
Note: This post was originally published in the year 2010. You may find the older version of products on the screenshots. But still, these methods are applicable for the latest version including Windows 10 and VirtualBox 6 x. But there will not be many valid reasons to try an older version of Mac OS 10.6 when we have macOS 11.0 Big Sur now. If you are a developer who wants to test several older versions of macOS, then you can try these methods.
Requirements
- Oracle VirtualBox
- Mac OS X 10. 6 Snow Leopard Retail DVD or ISO (You may need to search for ISO on the Internet)
- EmpireEFIv1085.iso for Intel Processors (This is the boot loader we will be using to boot Mac OS DVD/ISO, download the correct version here)
- Hardware VT Checker (Read more here and make sure Hardware Virtualization is enabled on the host computer BIOS)
- Sound driver (Mentioned under sound)
Installation Steps of Mac OS X 10.6 on VirtualBox
1) Create a Mac OS X Virtual Machine with the following configuration (If you have the latest VB, then select Mac Server version)
Memory – Minimum 1GB
Processor Cores – 1 or more (Change it to one core if you face any issues. Two cores worked for me)
Enable PAE/NX, VT-x,
Nesting Page – Enabled
Enable IO APIC and Enable Absolute pointing device.
Remove Enable EFI. Built-in EFI loader may work with Apple hardware only.
Enable 3D Acceleration under the display and set up maximum video memory.
Storage Controller type ICH6 and create a 20 GB Hard disk.
2) Mount empireEFIv1085.iso to CD drive. Make CD ROM the first bootable device. Keep your Snow Leopard DVD or ISO file ready.
3) Start the virtual machine. When the following screen appears, eject bootloader ISO and load Mac installation DVD or ISO.
To do it, right-click on CD drive and select drive or ISO image. Wait for a while and press F5 then ENTER key when DVD loaded.
4) Wait for some time. If you see the installation screen, you are almost done. Go through the installation process.
Go to disk utility and create a partition if you can’t see the installation disk.
5) I got the following warning message at the end of the installation. It’s not an issue, just restart the Virtual machine.
Note – Shutdown or Restart will not happen normally, you have to do it manually from the VirtualBox console. You have to load the empireEFI ISO again to boot the OS from the installed hard disk.
6) This time, select Mac OS hard disk by right arrow key and press Enter to boot. I’m sure after several initial configurations you will land on the Snow Leopard desktop successfully.
Let’s Fix Some Issues on Snow Leopard Virtual Machine
1) Network worked straight away. NAT and Bridged type worked without any patches.
2) Software Update: Yes, it worked. Since we used the vanilla kernel, this VM can be updated. I managed to update till 10.6.4.
3) USB Support: It worked well. Somehow data transfer is slow but manageable. It detected my USB hard disk and flash drive.
4) The sound in Mac OS X Guest: Sound is a little issue here but worked. I’m sure it will not bother you much.
Follow these steps to install sound drivers. For me it worked, one side speaker worked with little distraction. Something is better than nothing. You need to follow this guide to install sound drivers.
5) Screen Resolution and Screen Size: Follow these steps to adjust the screen size. Widescreen size didn’t work for some users.
6) Shutdown and Restart: We can’t shut down or restart Mac VM in a normal way. You may see the messages ‘CPU halted’ (for Shutdown) or ‘MACH Reboot’ (for restart), this means nothing will happen after it. We need to power off or reset the virtual machine from the VirtualBox console. Here is the working Snow Leopard on VirtualBox.
7) Update 1
Install Boot Loader permanently and some fixes
To avoid attaching empireEFI ISO every time to boot OS X virtual machine, we can install bootloader permanently on Mac hard disk. This method will install the Chameleon bootloader and some other drivers.
Go to Empire EFI CD which is already mounted and open the Post Installation folder. Take a snapshot before doing anything at this point. Run myHack Installer Package.
Select Customize in Installation Type.
Read each package description and select it if you need it for your computer hardware. I recommend not deselecting anything selected by default. Press the Install button to continue.
After successful installation, remove empireEFI ISO and start the virtual machine, it should boot from the hard disk as shown below.
If this doesn’t work, restore the virtual machine to the latest snapshot and install the Chameleon bootloader from a separate installation file in the Post Installation folder. This might fix the boot loader issue and improve performance.
8) Some fixes for booting issues
a) Mac DVD reading error – EBIOS read error: Error 0×0c Block 0×1ed48a Sectors 0
This is due to accessing data from a Mac retail DVD. Convert the DVD with some cloning software to ISO. Most people faced this issue and that was the solution.
b) Booting errors after installation.
Try Boot verbose or Boot Ignore Caches options. In the empireEFI bootloader, go to Mac disk by pressing the right arrow key. Once it’s selected, press the down arrow key which will bring more options. Select and press Enter.
c) Change boot loader for old type of processors: Select legacyempire_efi1085.iso, which is inside the same folder.
If this bootloader and method didn’t work on the Intel processor then try this method with a different iboot loader.
I hope these methods will be helpful to install the original Mac OS 10.6 Snow Leopard on Oracle VirtualBox with your Windows 10 or 8.1 computer. I mentioned a few troubleshooting steps which may be helpful as well.
Ok I am 11 and i am downloading Mac OSX onto my PC and it is going way faster than this and plus mine is more easier
Does the xcode work on it? I got it to install Mac but I don’t know if xcode works. Please let me know.
Thank you.
@Nik
yep, Xcode does work on it. And what more, iPhone can be connected for deploying your applications just like a normal Mac OS.
hey guys,I found article on X86 how to install mac os on a p.c.
I use to create my own custom Mac os disc,but I found and easier way to install on a p.c.
1.format your hard drive [ Mac OS Extended Journaled ]
2.unchecck the check mark on Hard drive [ Ignore ownership on this volume ]
3.uncheck the mark on Mac OS X Install DVD image disk ,too
4.open terminal
5.type sudo -s
6.sudo chown 0:0 /Volume/name\ HD
7. open /Volumes/Mac\ OS\ X\ Install\ DVD/System/Installation/Packages/OSInstall.mpkg
8.install your kexts & chameleon 2 RC3 or RC 4
9.enjoy : )
if you have any problem pm me at ducktape2201@gmail.com
Thank you Mark Raju.
Another question. I installed SL 10.6.2 instead of 10.6.3 as mentioned in this tutorial. Will XCode work on 10.6.2? The reason I am asking is when I try to install it, it asks for SL10.6.2 or higher. Any ideas?
@Nik
you need to upgrade your snow leopard version. Use Software update to upgrade your Mac OS. and then install Xcode. that should help.
@Nik
You can use Software update for upgrading 10.6.2 to 10.6.3. Then you can install a new version of Xcode. that should work
How do you create an ISO file from an official Mac OS X installer DVD, so Windows can read what inside.
I already tried it with MacDrive. Windows can read the content. And when i tried to create ISO from there using IMGburn, after that the ISO doesnt work.
@Ezra,
I tried with imgburn which worked fine for me. Make the writing speed less while creating ISO.
@Lee,
Use imgburn in Windows to create ISO from OS X DVD, more details available here
https://www.sysprobs.com/create-iso-mac-installation-dvd-rip-mac-dvd-windows
How do you create an ISO from official Mac OS X installer, that readable by Windows ?
hello, I did what you said in tutorial but select drive step in the installation it’s show empty no drive to select could you advice me?
@hareedy,
On the same screen where you are looking for disk, ” Go to disk utility and create a partition if you cant see installation disk” this is mentioned in this post.
Let me know if you still face issue on this.
Thanks and sorry for my studied move anyway i have created the partition and start to install in 26% it’s appear the installation failed screen and every time i start it’s all end with this step
btw my laptop spec is
http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/document?docname=c01707610&tmp_task=prodinfoCategory&lc=en&dlc=en&cc=us&lang=en&product=3925382
many thanks for helping me 😉
@hareedy,
Sorry for late reply.
26% is little early, still I suggest to unmount the ISO and boot from hard disk even though it failed at 26%. It may boot after some time. It happened to me once. Try and let me know.
i did everything
but the install wont complete
it gives me the same msg
” the Max OS X cant be installed in this computer ” !!!
see this picture
http://img267.imageshack.us/img267/1475/istallmac.jpg
help plz
i want the Mac so bad
mt lap is :
AMD thlon X2 64 bit
3 gb ram
300 HDD
265 graphic card shared ati
help
it says that Mac os X cant be installed in this computer
my laptop is amd athlon 64 bit
3gb ram
@hamoody,
I think something wrong with installation medium as suggested by ariston.
It should be retail installer disk not restore disk.
@ariston,
Thanks for your comment.
@hamoody
I’ve face that issue too, the cause on my problem was that I try to burn restore dvd from my boss mac. I figure that the disc only used to restore mac from mac product (such mac book air, etc.). To resolve this I must by Mac Snow Leopard installer from Apple store. Hope you check the disk, is it Snow Leopard retail disc or restore disc.
Tried several instructions, but this is the first one that worked. Installed 10.6.3 on Win 7/VB 3.2.8 with no problems. The only issue was that I installed without logging in as admin, but for some reason I had to log in as admin after install or I’d get VERR_ACCESS_DENIED.
Hi Folks,
I had several unsuccesfull attempts to install SL on Vmware 7 (or with Vmware player 3.1). Everytime I got the dreaded CPU shutdown message just when the screen with the Apple logon was shown: “A virtual CPU has entered the shutdown state. This would have caused a physical machine to restart. This can be caused by an incorrect configuration of the virtual machine, a bug in the operating system or a problem in the VMware Workstation software. Press OK to restart the virtual machine or Cancel to power off the virtual machine.” I tried ready-to-use Vmware images with SL OS or from blank Vmware to self installing SL with the retail DVD (gold master) DMG converted to ISO. Everytime the show was over after the Apple logo came in sight.
Frustrated I decided to give the VirtualBox a try with this excellent tutorial from Dinesh. So I started with my converted SnowLeopard ISO, a fresh install of VirtualBox and this guide. Everything went fine, but for one rather crucial thing: the EFO bootdisks (standard and legacy) also hung when attempting to start SL. Damned! The text In the DOS-textbox said somtehing about the RTC (Real Time Clock) not properly initializing due to a slight between reported and expected RTC values. Also the tip was given to upgrade the bootloader.
That last remark made me think: could my hardware (Dell Optiplex GX620, with Pentium dual core D930, VT enabled, 64 bits, Intel i945P chipset and 82801 Southbridge) in combination with the usual bootloaders the problem?
So I decided to start the Virtual SL Box with the legacy_darwin.iso.
This time: BINGO! I was able to boot the image and then point the CD\DVD to the SnowLeopard gold master ISO (not as a drive, but
directly pointing to the image itself, just like darwin.iso or empire EFI. The Apple desktop showed up and I was able to format the drive and start the installation. The setup routine worked just like the guide from Dinesh. After setup I had LAN, Internet and so forth (no sound, but that is known).
Like before, I had to load boot SL from the legacy darwin, otherwise it would not boot. I guess I have to live with that 😉
After restarting SL (from VirtualBox console) I could download and install alle available updates (from iTune to the latest SL rollup update (1Gb).
After configuring SL (sound, screen resolution etc.) I will try to convert the SL VDI image (now already 12 Gb) to a Vmware 7 VMDK. I still prefer this over Virtual Box. According to several users this conversion can be done from the Apple itself through Qemu. See: http://mariusvw.com/2009/10/18/convert-virtualbox-vdi-image-to-vmware-vmdk-image-with-qemu/
Keep ya posted!
@Windmill,
Glad my post helped you much.
One question, are you using legacy darwin with VirtualBox? did you get error with same image on VMware?
Yes, sound is problem on VirtualBox. I didn’t understand your purpose to convert VDI to VMDK. I doub’t that image will work on VMware.
You can check this post if you like,
https://www.sysprobs.com/steps-install-mac-snow-leopard-vmware-player-pre-installed-vmware-image
Hi,
I have a macbook pro Mac OSX 10.6 DVD. Can that be used to install in my HP TX-2 in virtualbox?
Or must I only use the retail version of the MAC OSX 10.6 DVD?
Thanks.
@IceCarpediem,
I think you must have retail DVD.
I tried with retails DVD only.
Thank You!
First tutorial that actually worked for me.
😀
Thank you for this awesome guide.
Dinesh… I need some help with this. I cannot get past the EmpireEFIv1085 step 3. Can you look at the kernel panic screen capture http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v651/asg9000/EFI_capture.jpg and offer a suggestion? Thanks.
@ASG9000,
Tell me about your host computer OS and processor, 32 or 64bit OS?
Dinesh:
32bit Windows 7 Ultimate, Intel Dual Core T3400cpu, with the GL40 chipset, and no VT-x support. Thanks for any suggestions. (I am DL the vmx file from your VMware Player 3 guide at the moment which I believe may work without VT).
@ASG9000, I think we are discussing in wrong place. Let me say clearly;
VT-x is must to run snow leopard (10.6) by VBox or VMware, whether its with pre installed image or fresh installation.
VT-x is not necessary to run Leopard (10.5) with pre installed image with VMware.
VT-x is must to run the same pre installed Leopard (10.5) image with VBox.
Since VT is not supported on your system, only the following method will work
https://www.sysprobs.com/mac-windows-featured-post
Sorry about it.
Thanks Dinesh – I figured as much regarding VT-x. I did get the VMware player image to work though.
Thanks Dinesh – I figured as much regarding VT-x. I did get the VMware player image to work though. What about a dual boot? No VT-x issues there, right? I may try it on an older hard disk I have laying around with Vista on it.
@ASG9000,
I have no idea about dual boot on non VT supported computers. There are several sites available on hackintosh on physical computers. Anyhow, update us what happened for you.
it cannot read my usb drive, is there a setting for osx to read it ?
Ken, is the usb drive coming in desktop of OS X? It should not be an issue.
Is it in NTFS or FAT format?
If any problem with detecting the device, I advice you to restart the guest and host machines. VirtualBox have some issues on USB with any OSs.
Need some help, followed the guide, reached Step 4, I have the screen that asks you to select your language which I did, and for about 30 minutes I have had the apple multi-colour spinner going, is this correct or has it hung?