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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
5) It will patch some files and download the VMware tools for macOS guest machines. Let it do and complete those steps.
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.
After the patch, now it should appear as below.
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.
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.
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.
Here is the working Mountain Lion OS X 10.8 on VMware workstation 9 with Windows 7 32-bit host after using the unlocker.
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.
204 Comments
How fast is this? Is it actually usable for programming? Does the VM support hardware acceleration aka able to play OpenGL games?
There is no video HW acceleration, however it is super stable. You can’t do things like video editing, or gaming, but you will be able to run it as a good web development platform for those of us on a budget who don’t yet own a Mac.
Can we use same method to set up mac os x lion on windows xp with vmware ??
Hi, Why my unlocker is not working, I did exactly what requires and the guest machines just do not have MAC OS
using workstation 9 and want to use MAC OS X ML 10.8
hey,you need to log in as Administrator….you got to use unlocker v110 ->click on windows folder->right click install.cmd->select run as Administrator.
Also before running the unlocker make sure VM workstation 9 is properly installed & all the required services are running…you can try disabling antivirus application….though its not required…
let me know if you still get problems…also you can send the screenshot of the error message if any…
Hey I did exactly as you said and after that also added a hard disk containing the .vmdk file, yet whenever I try to power it on, the start up from both hard disk and cd drive is unsuccessful.
Kindly get back to me at the earliest.
Try a few different versions of VMWare. I’m using VMWare 9.0.1-894247. You can get older versions from their site once you get a license.
I’m running VMWare Workstation 9.0.1 build-894247 on Windows 7 x64 sp1 and do NOT need the unlocker to run the retail version of the 10.8. It’s running under “Other” fine. Performance is slightly reduced, but barely noticeable on my hexacore processor.
How do I get my hands on an ISO of a retail version of MAC OS X 10.8? I want to setup a VMWARE client on Workstation 9.0.1 under Windows 7 x64 SP1 Ultimate.
you purchase it from the app store, using a real Mac. You cannot just obtain it like you used to be able to in the past.
I am trying to install FCP on my OSX vm, and it gives me an error that it needs gpu acceleration:
“This graphics configuration does not support hardware acceleration, which is required to run Final Cut Pro X.”
I have graphics acceleration on in vmware. This vmware workstation 9
Good assistance.
Hi, the unlocker does not work properly on WIndows 8, as Windows 8 has file protection in C:\, C:\Program Files and other locations, even with elevated command rpompts and administrator rights.
Can you turn the unlocker etc. into an Installer, that uses ‘TrustedInstaller’ to fix this or something ?
Hi,
Copy out the VMware Workstation folder from C:\Prog Files z86\VMware\VMware Workstation and move to another dive if possible (D:\)
RIght click and edit the install.cmd file from the Unlocker folder
Note down the registry locations it lists
Open Regedit
Find the two registry locations and amend them to point to your D:\VMware Workstation folder that you copied
Stop all VMware services.
Delete C:\Prog Files x86\Vmware\VMware Workstation folder (the whole folder)
Run the install.cmd file from the Unlocker app again
It will work this time (run it from a command window so you can monitor the output)
Double Check to ensure the services are still all stopped
Copy the D:\VMware Workstation folder back to C:\Program Files x86\VMware\VMware Workstation
Open Regedit and change the paths earlier back to C:\Program Files x86\VMware\VMware Workstation
Start the services
Open VMware Workstation
i install that and it was working perfectly but some how now it doesnt grab my input like mouse and keyboard doesnt work!
what can i do?
this is awesome. thanks!
You can download unlock-all-v111.zip
https://mega.co.nz/#!18AVRAwR!JVMWCWamw99NJBo14ZdlmiSAyIYzcK-5MH4ssoD6vO0
thanks so much for the great info. getting workstation 9 this week and will be attempting this.
Yes, it works on WS10 but not all the features are unlocked.
I have debian wheezy linux , kernel 3.10.9 (self compiled kernel) 64 bit. VMware Workstation 10 .
The unlocker works perfectly, but the MacOSX entry as a supported OS by VMware Workstation is missing.
Just set in the virtual machine folder, in the file of extension VMX the following:
guestOS = “darwin13-64”
The unlocker v111 didn’t work for me with VMware Workstation 10 on Windows 8 64-bit
Nope – verion 1.1.1 didn’t work for me on Workstation 10 64Bit it’s always worked on 7,8 and 9 but no joy with 10
I did not use unlocker, but the VM worked fine. interesting. I’m using it for OSX Server (which is four hundred light years away from Server 2012, but I need it for NetInstall) and everything worked fine. Video performance is very poor, however.
Would anyone be interested to release the OSX VMs for Hyper-V?
I didn’t use the unlocker either and running Workstation 10, with 10.7-updated into 10.8.5 worked just fine.
Same find. Interestingly, it works fine with VMware Workstation 10 on Windows 8 without the unlocker. Guest Operating System is on Other, but for version it says Mac OS X 10.8.
http://imageshack.us/a/img29/7864/5nog.png
Video lag is fixed by installing from inside Mavericks VMsvga2 found on sourceforge.
Is it possible to set the Mac Serial Number to a genuine Mac number, and not the one stuffed into the field by the VMWare Workstation.
As you can see from the copied text below, from “About this Mac” – Second last line in the text below.
…… Running VMWare Workstation 9.
=====================
Model Name: Mac
Model Identifier: VMware7,1
Processor Speed: 2.16 GHz
Number of Processors: 1
Total Number of Cores: 1
L2 Cache: 256 KB
L3 Cache: 3 MB
Memory: 1 GB
Boot ROM Version: VMW71.00V.0.B64.1206270404
SMC Version (system): 1.16f8
Serial Number (system): VMWVk2xi7Na1MRLQYm/eat4Wg
Hardware UUID: 00000000-0000-1000-8000-000C29AB785A
will this work on windows xp
Yes, this is applicable for XP and Vista too.
Now latest version is 1.2.0 which is working with latest workstation.
upload it plz
This is great!!!
Thank a lot for your instructions
Does someone Installed Xcode in his VMW ?
if yes, is there some trouble in coding?
Nice, works great! Tnx guys
can you give me the of os that the unlock gives me