VMware Unlocker for macOS -VMware Workstation 16

Updated:

If you want to use macOS or earlier versions on Intel-based Windows OS computers by VMware workstation or VM player, “macOS unlocker” is a compulsory utility. This unlocker utility replaces a few VMware program files and patches them to install and use macOS and older versions as virtual machines on Windows Operating Systems.

Here is the download link of the working VMware unlocker that supports VMware Workstation versions 11 to 16 (all tested by me) on Windows 10, 11 and older versions 8.1 64- bit and Win 7 32-bit physical computers.

Unlocker version 3.0.4

The latest unlocker version (3.0.4) released by the developer in February 2022 has several bug fixes and supports the guest macOS version up to macOS 13 (Ventura). Also, this utility works on Windows 11 computers with the latest VMware Workstation Pro (v 16) and Player products.

VMware Unlocker

We published a few guides about installing Mavericks, Mountain Lion and Lion OS X on VMware workstation using this unlocker.

Read Also: Download macOS 13 Ventura VMware Image.

VMware macOS Unlocker (Workstation 11-16) Download Link

Download the DrDonk unlocker from the developer’s site here.

It has been tested with Workstation 11-16 versions and VMware players 7,12,15, and 16. If you have the older version of unlocker installed, you must uninstall it before installing the latest version. Failure to do this may hamper your VMware workstation files and program.

Download UnlockerDownload the macOS Unlocker 3.0.4

Install macOS Unlocker on Windows 10/11 for VMware Workstation/Player

1) Since this tool will be changing and updating the binary files of the VMware workstation, it is always good practice to backup the VMware program folder before executing the unlocker.

2) After downloading the zip file, extract it.

3) If you have the previous unlocker version, you must uninstall it first.

To do that, right-click on the uninstallation script and execute it as administrator.

Uninstall Unlocker

Note: VMware workstation or player must be completely switched off before running this script.

4) Close any working Virtual machines and VMware program. Execute the installation script as administrator.

Install Unlocker On Windows 10/11

While executing the unlocker script in Windows 11, you may get the Microsoft defender SmartScreen warning. You can click more and ‘Run anyway’ to continue the installation.

Run Anyway Option

5) It will patch some files and download the VMware tools for macOS guest machines. Let it do and complete those steps.

Running Unlocker

6) Now, you must see the difference in the guest OS support. You can’t create any macOS virtual machines without the patch since they are not listed as supported versions, as shown below.

No MacOS Support

After the patch, now it should appear as below.

Supported MacOS

The latest Unlocker 3.0.4 brings the support up to macOS 10.16 (Big Sur). So, it supports macOS 10.15 Catalina and 10.14 Mojave too. Also, after selecting the latest version (10.16), we can use the VMware workstation to use macOS 12 Monterey on Windows 11 and Windows 10 computers.

I’m just a tester of this utility. Full credits should go to the developer who produced a great tool. This particular macOS unlocker works on Intel processor Windows and Linux computers only. AMD is not supported yet.

If you have the older version of the VMware workstation earlier than version 11, you need the older version of the unlocker.

Big Sur With Latest Unlocker In Windows 11

Here is working Big Sur 10.16 on Windows 10 with VMware workstation 16.

After patching the VMware workstation with this unlocker, the patch is no longer valid if you upgrade the VMware to any major versions. You may not be able to run or create macOS VMs anymore. You need to run the latest unlocker (which has the support of the VMware version you upgraded) to get the macOS virtual machine support again.

Older versions of Unlockers (Link below)

a) Visit the official site to download unlocker 2.0.7 (free registration required). This works for VMware workstation 11.

b) For VMware versions 10, 9, 8 and 7, you need to get version 1.0.3.

Here is the link to download.

In the older versions of unlocker, you may find different sets of files.

Right-click on install.cmd file and select Run as administrator option as shown below. Also, you can start the command prompt as administrator on Windows 7 computer and execute install.cmd from the command prompt.

right click and patch

Here is the working Mountain Lion OS X 10.8 on VMware workstation 9 with Windows 7 32-bit host after using the unlocker.

working guest

With these all information, you must have a clear idea of downloading and installing the VMware macOS unlocker on Windows 11/10 and older versions.

How to install VMware Unlocker in Linux?

The same Unlocker tool has the installation script for Linux OS. Execute the lnx-install.sh file from the terminal with the root access. This step will patch the VMware workstation on your Linux computer and support macOS as a guest virtual machine.

How to get Mac OS on VMware – Windows OS?

VMware workstations or players for Windows do not support Mac OS officially. We need to download and run a VMware unlocker to enable the support for macOS on Windows. Then we can use the pre-installed macOS VMware images or modified ISO files to get Mac OS on VMware.

Where can I download the latest VMware tools for macOS on Windows OS?

The VMware unlocker tool has a script to download the latest Darwin VMware tools for macOS. Execute win-update-tools.cmd from the unlocker extracted location. You can see a folder called ‘tool’ with the latest VMware tools.

Downloading Latest Vmware Tools

If any of the above solutions did not fix the Windows PC issues, we recommend downloading the below PC repair tool to identify and solve any PC Issues.

Dinesh is the founder of Sysprobs and written more than 400 articles. Enthusiast in Microsoft and cloud technologies with more than 15 years of IT experience.

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209 thoughts on “VMware Unlocker for macOS -VMware Workstation 16”

  1. When starting with a fresh install or updating to VM Ware 8.0.x you may notice that when moving the mouse out of the virtual screen it hops back into the middle of your virtual desktop. To fix this it is not a Virtual Machine setting but more of a VM Ware setting.

    Edit -> Preferences -> Input

    Uncheck “Grab keyboard and mouse input on key press”

    You may leave everything else checked and Optimize mouse to Automatic.

    When you move the mouse out of the screen it should no longer reset to the middle of the desktop.

  2. After applying the patch to VMWare workstation 8.0.1, Mac OS X Lion can be successfully started up. However, I cannot startup the Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard, is it normal ?

    • So??? I do too but I want a VM due to issues with VirtualBox. Keep up the good work everyone… I’m a paid up memeber of fusion looking to port an osx image for supporting work purposes initially. Minimum hassle, maximum use, ideally: and see if its worth progressing

  6. when power on the vmware it showing like this ………The CPU has been disabled by the guest operating system.,,,,,,,,,,what can i do

    • I had the same problem using an acer aspire 5742 with and i3 processor. Turns out it doesn’t support hardware virtualization so I had to use a patch. Just do a search for hardware virtualization bypasser. That should sort you out.

  7. Does anyone know how to increase the video ram on this setup, I am showing only 128mb in OS X running in VMWARE, my host is Win 7 x64.

  8. Your given patch is not working with VMWARE 10.7.1..
    would my mind mailing me the link for working patch for VMWARE 10.7 version…. ????

  13. After Installing Mac OS X 10.7.1 on VMWARE on windows 7 set I started to Update software in Mac Software update, after downloading the file its restart the O.S after restarting the system its still running to start but its not open new version, is any problem, how to resolve my problem its showing only loading option only. first time Its works good (Mac OSX 10.7.1) the problem after updating to new version from mac os inside vmware.
    If install freshly i m getting only MAc OSX 10.7.1 but i Need 10.7.3 because I need to work On XCODE 4.3 version its supports only mac OSX 10.7.3 only.

    • What version of VMWare Workstation are you using ? I have no problem upgrade to Mac OS X 10.7.3 in VMware Workstation 8.0.2 and I have installed XCode 4.3 successfully.

  14. Using the instructions found on this site and elsewhere, I successfully installed Lion 10.7.3. in Vmware Player 4 on Linux (debian) running on a Pentium E6500 with 8GB. I used a self-created Lion usb flash drive install built from an App store download of Lion. (I also own a MacBook) If you have access to Lion on a flash drive, the process is fairly simple:

    1. Working VMware Player 4.
    2. Get Unlock-All v102. Carefully follow the instructions for patching your Vmware install, especially the permissions requirements.
    3. Once you Vmware is patched, create the Lion virtual machine and use the no-disk/no image option.

    4. Go read this: http://tinyurl.com/6ppdw6y (Installing Mac OS X 10.7 (Lion) as a virtual machine in Fusion 4) The instructions are for Fusion 4, but they apply equally to Vmware Player.

    Following the Vmware instructions, I had no problems installing. Lion boots up perfectly. As others have reported, sound is choppy and web video (Youtube) is not great. Used the Ensoniq AudioPCI driver to get sound working.

    OS: Darwin 11.3.0/x86_64 – CPU: Pentium Dual-Core E6500 (2797.00 MHz) – Processes: 76 – Uptime:
    15395d 14h 14m – Users: 2 – Load Average: 0.48 – Memory Usage: 987.11MB/2048.00MB (48.20%) – Disk Usage:16.68GB/41.30GB (40.37%)

    WOW! Uptime of 40 years! 😉 (Yes, the script needs work)

    Good luck!

  16. I have installed workstation version 8.0.0 build 471780, and run the guest unlocker for Workstation for version 8. It shows up correctly in the list. But i am still getting the grey logo. Im running Windows 7 64-bit, with AMD but it says my processor is capable of VT with a tool checker. Any idea what I need to do?

    • I have the same problems as Grendel. Win 7 – 64 bit with AMD phenom 2. VT should be working but i’m stuck at the grey screen with the apple logo. Tried VMWare workstation 8.0.0 and 8.0.2 with the guest unluck.

    • That such a friend, you’ve been able to solve your problem? esque I find myself in them and you do not, you help me solve this problem and if I find something more than I will tell you!

      a hug!

    • I am also facing this problem. A grey screen with roadblock sign….Plz tell me if u found a way for this…

    • Hello,

      Could you please tell if you solved this problem and how? I have the same issue.

      Thank you a lot.
      Greetz

  18. Please help on below Error!!

    I have done same steps which you gave on above, but getting error that “64-bit guest operating systems are not support by this host and will not run.

    My system configurations::
    Model: Lenovo T60,
    Processor: Genuine Inter(R) CPU T2300 @ 1.66GHz
    RAM: 2 Gb
    Hard disk: 160 Gb
    Operating System: Windows 8 consumer Preview
    Workstation : 7.1.4

    please help me!! Thanks..

  19. hi,,,
    plz help me.. im stuck with greay aaple logo screen in vmware.. and its not proceeding further.. i have enabled virtualization technology.. i have intel core i3 – 2330 @ 2.20Ghz processor.. and im using workstation 8 with unlocked.. n i have vmx file of 10.7.3.. plz help me to slolve this issue..

    • Hello there.

      I had same issue. My host pc didnt had te sound board enabled, for extrange reason, osx not boot if there is not sound card emuled or maped from the vmware.

      Also, you can try any other image from piratebay 😉

  22. I have updated to VMWare Workstation 8.0.3 from VMWare Workstation 8.0.2 but then I found that the “Apple Mac OS X” option is missing. However after I re-applied the unlocker v1.02, the Mac OS X 10.7 can be successfully started up.

  24. Bridged networking will not work with apple airport extreme router.. i just found this problem when i switched from my dlink router.. i coudnt find any solution.. the only way is to use NAT

    is it the router firmware or vmware bug ?

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