Article ID = 232 Article Title = Virtualising a physical Mac/hard disk/clone/disk image file Article Author(s) = Graham Needham (BH) Article Created On = 27th March 2019 Article Last Updated = 27th March 2019 Article URL = https://www.macstrategy.com/article.php?232 Article Brief Description: Instructions for installing, setting up and virtualising a physical Mac/hard disk/disk image file
For simpler users, more specifically, Mac users, there is iRamDisk, an app worth $1.99 in the Mac App Store which allows you to create virtual RAM disks and mount them as regular drives. Before you create a RAM disk, you should know that it is volatile memory.
Virtualising a physical Mac/hard disk/clone/disk image file
The MacApper weblog has a simple, beginner's tutorial for creating and using virtual disks on your Mac using the built-in Disk Utility.
Paragon Hard Disk Manager for Mac is a system and data management solution for Apple computers. It provides powerful backup and flexible recovery features, everything you need for perfect partitioning, and reliable data wiping algorithms.
And one important point: The terms 'virtual drives,' 'virtual disks' and 'virtual machines' can sometimes be thrown around interchangeably. Sometimes, a 'virtual hard drive' (and all its vocabulary variations) has less to do with a storage server and way more to do with an operating system. Say you had a Mac and needed to run a Windows.
The ability to virtualise an existing Mac/macOS installation is important and very useful as it is an easy way to continue running your old Mac and also a possible way to run 32-bit applications that do not run on macOS 10.15 or later. MacStrategy presents this special guide to virtualising a physical Mac/hard disk/clone/disk image file. This article deals with transferring an existing Mac running Mac OS X / OS X / macOS to a virtual machine, or take a bootable storage device/clone/disk image and convert it into a virtual machine. If you would prefer to set up/install a virtual machine with a clean Mac OS X/OS X/macOS from scratch please see one of the following articles instead:
Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard (Server) - costs money but you may already be running/want to run this to be able to use PowerPC/Rosetta based applications
OS X 10.7 - OS X 10.8 is better
OS X 10.8 - costs money but if you already own it/want to pay for it, it runs very efficiently in a virtual machine and there are few internet/iCloud based services clogging it up
OS X 10.9 - was very kludgy and slow when installed on a hard disk
OS X 10.10 - was slow when installed on a hard disk, does not support latest Apple internet/iCloud based services
OS X 10.11 - free, supports most internet/iCloud based services
macOS 10.12 - free, supports most internet/iCloud based services
macOS 10.13 - buggy, slow, new Apple File System
macOS 10.14 - still being revised, new Apple File System
Oracle VirtualBox [FREE - Open source under GNU General Public License (GPL) version 2]
Instructions
NOTE: This document was written using a Mac mini (2014 model) with macOS 10.14 Mojave running in 64-bit only test mode and using Parallels Desktop 14.1.2, VMWare Fusion 11.0.2 and VirtualBox 6.0.4.
Preparation
NOTE: You will need the following:
Catalina Virtualbox Vmdk
Mac computer for hosting your preferred guest OS preferably with a working Recovery Partition
Make sure your actual, physical Mac has a working internet connection e.g. use a web browser to go to https://www.apple.com and see if you can view a web page
Purchase/install/update your preferred virtualisation software (see list above)
On later versions of macOS your preferred virtualisation software will require specifically allowing their System Extension(s) to run via System Preferences > Security & Privacy, plus they may require to be granted access to Accessibility
Purchase/download/obtain your preferred cloning software (we list some in our How To Clone Your Primary/Boot Drive article - we highly recommend Carbon Copy Cloner)
If you going to clone from a physical Mac or a clone on a bootable storage device, if possible, boot that system first to make sure it works/is bootable, and also de-activate any software e.g. Adobe Creative Suite (applications)
Bootable physical Mac/hard disk/clone/disk image file of your old system
NOTE: If you have the original Mac you will need to clone its startup disk either to an external storage device (preferably USB) or to a disk image first using, for example, Carbon Copy Cloner.
Make sure you have plenty of free space on your physical Mac's hosting drive - you will need to create a basic Mac OS X / OS X / macOS virtual machine where you may need to copy the disk image file of your old system to + an additional virtual machine drive that has enough space to host your old system
If you are using an external storage device for your bootable clone or to hold the disk image file it's best to rename it to something that is easy to recognise e.g. 'VM Transfer'
Create a basic/clean Mac OS X / OS X / macOS virtual machine - if your Mac host computer has a working Recovery Partition, in VMWare Fusion you can easily do this by going to File menu > New… > select 'Install macOS from the recovery partition' > click 'Continue' and follow the on-screen instructions. Alternatively, use our step-by-step guides:
Instructions for virtualising a physical Mac/hard disk/clone/disk image file with:
Parallels Desktop Instructions
We have not tested this in Parallels Desktop but you should be able to do something similar to what we did in VMWare Fusion - we will update this article when we have more time to test this. Don't forget to donate to us (use the button in the bottom left corner of this web page).
VMWare Fusion
Make sure the basic/clean Mac virtual machine you created in the preparation section above is shutdown
Go to Virtual Machine menu > Settings > Hard Disk (SATA) > click 'Add Device…' > select 'New Hard Disk' > click 'Add…' > choose size > Apply
NOTE: This additional virtual machine drive must be larger than the space used by the physical Mac/hard disk/clone/disk image file of your old system.
Start up/boot the virtual machine
At the Desktop Mac OS X / OS X / macOS will recognise the additional virtual machine drive and ask you to initalize it > click 'Initialize' (which will open Disk Utility)
Select the unformatted additional virtual machine drive on the left (VMware Virtual SATA) - this is the one without 'Macintosh HD' underneath it
Set 'Name:' to 'Second HD', 'Format:' to 'OS X Extended (Journaled)', and 'Scheme:' to 'GUID Partition Map' > click 'Erase' to initalize/format the additional virtual machine drive (it should now mount/appear on your Desktop if you have the virtual machine's Finder 'Preferences' set to show 'Hard Disks')
Click 'Erase'
If OS X / macOS asks you whether you want to use the additional virtual machine drive for Time Machine Backups click 'Don't Use'
Quit Disk Utility
Connect your physical Mac/clone or hard disk with the disk image file of your old system to your virtual machine OR, if you have enough space, copy the disk image file of your old system on to the virtual machine's Desktop
The physical Mac/clone or hard disk with the disk image file of your old system on it should now mount/appear on your Desktop (if you have the virtual machine's Finder 'Preferences' set to show 'Hard Disks') OR double click to open the disk image file of your old system that is now on your virtual machine's Desktop
Using your cloning software of choice, clone your physical Mac/hard disk/clone/disk image file of your old system to the additional virtual machine drive e.g. with Carbon Copy Cloner:
In the virtual machine go to Apple menu > System Preferences > Startup Disk > set it to 'Second HD'
Quit System Preferences
Shutdown the virtual machine (Apple menu > Shut Down) - not Restart
Go to Virtual Machine menu > Settings > Hard Disk (SATA) > make sure 'File name:' is 'Virtual Disk.vmdk' > click 'Advanced options' at the bottom > click 'Remove Hard Disk'
You will be given the choice to keep or Trash the virtual disk file which is your choice (it might be worth keeping the original virtual disk if you have plenty of space as it is a clean Mac OS X / OS X / macOS virtual machine)
Go to Virtual Machine menu > Settings > General
Change the virtual machine's 'Name' to something that is relevant to your original Mac system e.g. 'Old OS X 10.8 Mac Pro'
Change the virtual machine's 'OS' to match that was on your physical Mac/hard disk/clone/disk image file
Go through and configure your required virtual machine custom settings:
Start up/boot the virtual machine
To avoid confusion with your host Mac, rename the virtual machine's hard disk from 'Second HD' to something that is different to your current hard disk e.g. 'Virtual OS X 10.8 HD'
Go to Virtual Machine menu > Install VMWare Tools
Install VMWare Tools, following the on screen instructions and restart the virtual machine when complete (you may get a message about the installer certificate being out of date and this appears to stop the Tools installing so things like drag and drop are not supported [with this guest OS])
If you are running an unsupported version of Mac OS X / OS X / macOS make sure you check out our Securing Older Operating Systems article
Q. What are the current, supported versions of macOS?
A. macOS 10.15 (Catalina), 10.14 (Mojave) and macOS 10.13 (High Sierra) are supported by Apple. The latest security updates are:
macOS 10.15 - included in the macOS 10.15.6 Combo Update
macOS 10.14 - included in the macOS 10.14.6 Combo Update + Supplemental Update 2 (1st October 2020)
macOS 10.13 - included in the macOS 10.13.6 Combo Update + Security Update 2020-005
SECURITY WARNING: macOS 10.12 and earlier are no longer supported with security updates - see our securing older operating systems article.
VirtualBox
We have not tested this in VirtualBox but you should be able to do something similar to what we did in VMWare Fusion - we will update this article when we have more time to test this. Don't forget to donate to us (use the button in the bottom left corner of this web page).
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If this information helped you or saved you time and/or money why not donate a little to us via PayPal? All proceeds go directly to MacStrategy / Burning Helix Limited to help fund this web site. Go to this web page to donate to us.
Windows 10 is a great operating system. It has its quirks and annoyances, but which operating system doesn’t? Even if you’re beholden to Microsoft and Windows 10, you can still shop around.
What better way to do that than from the safe confines of your existing operating system with a virtual machine? This way, you can run macOS on Windows, which is perfect when you want to use Mac-only apps on Windows.
So, here’s how you install macOS in a virtual machine on Windows, making a virtual Hackintosh that lets you run Apple apps from your Windows machine.
Mac Os Virtual Disk Image
What Files Do You Need to Create a macOS Virtual Machine on Windows 10?
Before delving into the “how-to,” you need to download and install the essential tools. The tutorial details how to create macOS virtual machines using both Oracle VirtualBox Manager (VirtualBox) and VMware Workstation Player (VMware Player).
Not sure which to use? Learn more about the differences between VirtualBox and VMware.
Download the latest version of VirtualBox. The tutorial uses VirtualBox 6.1.4
Download the latest version of VMware Player. The tutorial uses VMware Player 15.0.4
You need a copy of macOS, too. Catalina is the latest macOS version. You can find the download links for macOS Catalina in the next section.
This tutorial will focus on installing macOS Catalina in a virtual machine running on Intel hardware, using either VirtualBox or VMware Player.
Unfortunately, I do not have access to any AMD hardware, so I cannot provide a tutorial.
There is, however, the code snippet that anyone using an AMD system requires to boot a macOS Catalina using VMware on AMD hardware.
The process to launch the macOS Catalina virtual machine is the same as the Intel version but uses a slightly different code snippet. You can find the tutorial and the code snippet in the section below.
Furthermore, you will find links to several AMD macOS Catalina, Mojave, and High Sierra virtual machine tutorials, at the end of the article.
Download macOS Catalina Virtual Image
Use the following links to download macOS Catalina for both VirtualBox and VMware.
If the Google Drive reaches its download limit, right-click the file and select Copy to create a copy in your own Google Drive. You can then download the macOS Catalina virtual image from there.
Please note that these links may stop working from time to time. If that is the case, please leave a comment, and I’ll fix them as soon as possible.
After the virtual image finishes downloading, right-click, and extract the file using your favorite archive tool. For instance, right-click, then select 7-Zip > Extract to “macOS Catalina.”
How to Create a macOS Catalina Virtual Machine with VirtualBox
Before creating the macOS virtual machine, you need to install the VirtualBox Extension Pack. It includes fixes for USB 3.0 support, mouse and keyboard support, and other useful VirtualBox patches.
Download: VirtualBox Extension Pack for Windows (Free)
Scroll down, select All supported platforms to download, then double-click to install.
Create the macOS Catalina Virtual Machine
Open VirtualBox. Select New. Type macOS.
VirtualBox will detect the OS as you type and will default to Mac OS X. You can leave this as is.
Regarding the virtual machine name, make it something memorable yet easy to type. You’ll need to input this name in a series of commands, and it is frustrating to type a complicated name multiple times!
Next, set the amount of RAM the macOS virtual machine can use. I would suggest a minimum of 4GB, but the more you can give from the host system, the better your experience will be.
Remember, you cannot assign more RAM than your system has available, and you need to leave some memory available for the host operating system. Learn more about how much RAM does a system need?
Now, you need to assign a hard disk, which is the virtual image downloaded previously. Select Use an existing virtual hard disk file, then select the folder icon. Browse to the VMDK file, then select Create.
Edit the macOS Catalina Virtual Machine Settings
Don’t try and start your macOS Catalina virtual machine yet. Before firing the virtual machine up, you need to make a few tweaks to the settings. Right-click your macOS virtual machine and select Settings.
Under System, remove Floppy from the boot order. Ensure the Chipset is set to ICH9.
Select the Processor tab. Assign two processors. If you have a CPU with power to spare (such as an Intel Core i7 or i9 with multiple extra cores), consider assigning more. However, this isn’t vital.
Make sure the Enable PAE/NX box is checked.
Under Display, set Video Memory to 128MB.
Now, under Storage, check the box alongside Use Host I/O Cache.
Finally, head to the USB tab and select USB 3.0, then press OK.
Use Command Prompt to Add Custom Code to VirtualBox
It still isn’t quite time to fire up your macOS Catalina virtual machine. In its current configuration, VirtualBox doesn’t work with your macOS VMDK.
To get it up and running, you have to essentially patch VirtualBox before the macOS virtual machine will function. To do this, you need to enter some code using the Command Prompt. All the details are below.
Start by closing VirtualBox. The commands will not execute properly if VirtualBox or any of its associated processes are running.
Once closed, press Windows Key + X, then select Command Prompt (Admin) from the menu.
If your menu only shows the PowerShell option, type command into your Start menu search bar. Then right-click the Best Match, and select Run as Administrator.
Virtual Disk For Mac
The following code works for VirtualBox 5.x and 6.x.
Use the following command to locate the Oracle VirtualBox directory:
Now, enter the following commands, one by one. Adjust the command to match the name of your virtual machine. For instance, my virtual machine name is “macoscat.” Here are the commands:
After the completion of the commands, and presuming you encountered no errors, close the Command Prompt.
Boot Your macOS Mojave Virtual Machine
Reopen VirtualBox. Double-click your macOS virtual machine to start it. You will see a long stream of text, followed by a gray screen.
The gray screen can take a moment or two to clear, but don’t panic. Once the screen clears, macOS Catalina will begin installing. When it resolves, you will arrive at the macOS “Welcome” screen.
From here, you can set your macOS Mojave virtual machine up as you see fit.
Pro Tip: Take a snapshot of your virtual machine once it passes the gray screen. If anything goes wrong down the line, you can return to the Welcome screen setup and start the process again.
Once you complete the macOS setup, take another one so you can jump straight into your macOS installation. Head to Machine > Take Snapshot, give your snapshot a name, and wait for it to process.
How to Create a macOS Catalina Virtual Machine Using VMware Workstation Player
Prefer VMware over VirtualBox? You can create a macOS Catalina virtual machine using VMware that works exactly the same as VirtualBox. And, just as with VirtualBox, VMware also requires patching before the macOS Catalina virtual machine will work.
This part of the tutorial works for Intel and AMD systems. AMD users must use the second code snippet when editing the virtual machine VMX file. Read through the tutorial to see what this means exactly.
Patch VMware Workstation Player
In the “macOS Catalina Virtual Image” section is the VMware Player Patch Tool. Before commencing any further, download the patch tool.
Then, browse to the location you downloaded the patch tool to. Extract the contents of the archive. This process works best when the folders are on the same drive (e.g., the VMware root folder and extracted archive are both found on the C: drive).
Make sure VMware is completely closed. Now, in the patcher folder, right-click the win-install command script and select Run as Administrator. The script will open a Command Prompt window, and the patch-script will run.
Do pay attention. The script whizzes by, and you need to keep watch for any “File not Found” messages.
The most common reason for a “file not found” or a “system cannot find the file specified” message is installing VMware Workstation Player in a different location to the default folder, and executing the patch from a different directory.
Once the patch completes, you can open VMware.
Create the macOS Catalina Virtual Machine with VMware
Select Create a New Virtual Machine. Choose I will install the operating system later.
Now, select Apple Mac OS X, and change the Version to macOS 10.14. If you don’t see the macOS options, it is because the patch didn’t install correctly.
Next, you need to choose a name for your macOS Catalina virtual machine. Choose something easy to remember, then copy the file path to somewhere handy—you’re going to need it to make some edits in a moment.
On the next screen, stick with the suggested maximum hard disk size, then select Store virtual disk as a single file. Complete the virtual disk creation wizard, but do not start the virtual machine just yet.
Edit the macOS Mojave Virtual Machine Settings
Before you can boot the virtual machine, you must edit the hardware specifications. Plus, you need to tell VMware where to find the macOS VMDK.
From the main VMware screen, select your macOS Catalina virtual machine, then right-click, and select Settings.
Like VirtualBox, bump the virtual machine memory up to at least 4GB. You can allocate more if you have RAM to spare.
Under Processors, edit the number of available cores to 2.
Virtual Machine Disk Download
Now, under Hard Disk (SATA), you need to remove the hard disk created earlier. Select Remove and VMware will remove the disk automatically.
Now, select Add > Hard Disk > SATA (Recommended)> Use an existing disk. Browse to the location of the macOS VMDK and select it.
Edit the macOS Catalina VMX File for Intel Hardware
This section is for Intel users and it involves the final set of edits you need to make before switching your VMware macOS Catalina virtual machine on!
Close VMware. Head to the location you stored the macOS virtual machine. The default location is:
Browse to macOS.vmx, right-click, and select Open with…, select Notepad (or your preferred text editor). Scroll to the bottom of the configuration file and add the following line:
Save, then Exit.
You can now open VMware, select your macOS Mojave virtual machine, and fire it up!
Edit the macOS Catalina VMX File for AMD Hardware
This section is for AMD users. Like the above section, AMD users must also edit the VMX file before proceeding. The AMD edit involves a few more lines than the Intel version, but you can copy and paste the data into the file.
Close VMware. Head to the location you stored the macOS virtual machine. The default location is:
Browse to macOS.vmx, right-click, and select Open with…, select Notepad (or your preferred text editor). Scroll to the bottom of the configuration file and add the following lines:
Save, then Exit.
You can now open VMware, select your macOS Mojave virtual machine, and fire it up!
Install VMware Tools to Your macOS Catalina Virtual Machine
You now need to install VMware Tools, which is a set of utilities and extensions that improve mouse handling, video performance, and other useful things.
With the macOS virtual machine running, head to Player > Manage > Install VMware Tools.
The installation digavsc will appear on the macOS desktop. When the option appears, select Install VMware Tools, then allow it access to the removable volume. Follow the guided installer, which will require a restart on completion.
Troubleshooting
There are a couple of things that can go wrong during the macOS virtual machine installation in VMware Player Workstation.
If you cannot see “Apple Mac OS X” during the virtual machine creation wizard, then you need to revisit the patch process. Ensure every process associated with VMware Player is off.
If you receive the message “Mac OS X is not supported with binary translation” when starting the virtual machine, there is a strong chance you need to activate virtualization in your BIOS/UEFI configuration.
If you receive the message “VMware Player unrecoverable error: (vcpu-0)” when starting the virtual machine, you need to head back to the macOS.vmx configuration file to ensure you added the extra line and saved the edit.
If you’re running AMD hardware and get stuck at the Apple logo, first power off the virtual machine. Now, head to Settings > Options > General. Change the Guest operating system to Microsoft Windows, and the Version to Windows 10 x64. Press OK, then attempt to power up the virtual machine again. Once the Apple logo passes, power down the virtual machine, then set the Guest operating system option back to Apple Mac OS X, selecting the correct version.
macOS Virtual Machines for AMD Hardware
Apple uses Intel hardware to power desktops and laptops. Configuring a macOS virtual machine using Intel hardware is easier because the hardware specifications are very similar.
Virtual Disk For Mac
With AMD, the opposite is true. Because Apple does not develop macOS on AMD hardware, creating a macOS virtual machine on an AMD system is trickier.
Adding to this, I don’t have an AMD system to test macOS virtual machines on, so I cannot give you a detailed tutorial. I can, however, point you in the direction of several macOS AMD virtual machine tutorials that do work, so long as you are patient and follow each step accordingly.
Mojave AMD Vanilla Guide From Windows via AMD OS X
High Sierra 10.13.1 VM for VMware Player for Ryzen/FX/APU via AMD OS X
Mojave AMD VirtualBox via AMD OS X
The AMD OS X forum is a great resource for macOS virtual machines. You can find many more forum threads regarding AMD macOS virtual machines, too.
You have two options to choose from for your macOS Catalina virtual machine. Both options are great if you want to give macOS a try before making the switch from Windows and enjoy some of the best Apple apps on offer.
You can use a virtual machine to test other operating systems too. For instance, here’s how to install a Linux distro in a virtual machine.
Are you looking to learn more about virtual machines?
Mac Os X Virtual Disk
Check out our VirtualBox User’s Guide, which teaches everything you need to know, or our guide to creating a virtual machine using Windows 10 Hyper-V.
Read the full article: How to Run macOS on Windows 10 in a Virtual Machine