After several days of attempts and findings, finally I managed to install Mac OS X Snow Leopard in VirtualBox 3.2 in non Apple Intel PC. This guide explains step by step methods involved in how to install snow leopard in VirtualBox 3.2.
This method is completely for testing and learning purpose. Do not use for permanent or in production use. Please buy original Mac OS and Apple hardware. Oracle VirtualBox 3.2 officially supports Mac OS X as guest on Apple hardware only. But still it’s possible to install Mac OS X on non Apple hardware with different boot loaders
UPDATE – 17-02-2011
Intel i-series processor users- Check this other guide with three methods suitable for Intel i3,i5 and i7 processors.
Check this post – This same guide re-written with several major issues fixed and how to update to 10.6.5
When you updating to latest 10.6.6, make sure to check few considerations at end of this guide.
The good thing is, you do not require any hacked Mac OS X installation DVDs or ISO files. Use your original Snow Leopard retail DVD or ISO file.
Required Products to Install Mac OS X Snow Leopard 10.6.3 on Oracle VirtualBox 3.2
1) Oracle VirtualBox 3.2 ( Read more and download from here)
2) Mac OS X 10. 6 Snow Leopard Retail DVD or ISO
3) EmpireEFIv1085.iso for Intel Processors (This is the boot loader we will be using to boot Mac, download the correct version here)
Updated- EmpireEFI Boot loader for AMD processor
4) VT Checker (Read more here and make sure Hardware Virtualization is enabled is Host BIOS)
5) Sound driver (Mentioned under sound)
Demonstration PC configuration
1) Intel Core2Duo 2.66GHz (VT Enabled, 64 Bit Architecture supports)
2) 3GB RAM
3) Intel P35 Chipset
4) Windows 7 32 Bit
Step by Step Installation of Mac 10.6.3 on VB3.2
1) Create a Mac OS X Virtual Machine with following configuration ( If you have latest VB, then select Mac Server version)
More information on installing SL on VB 3.2.6
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 display and setup maximum video memory.
Storage Controller type ICH6 and create a 20 GB Hard disk.
2) Mount empireEFIv1085.iso to CD drive. Make CD ROM as first boot device. Keep your Snow Leopard DVD or ISO file ready.
3) Start the virtual machine. When following screen appears, eject loader ISO and load Mac installation DVD or ISO.
To do it, right click on CD drive and select drive or ISO image. Wait a bit , Press F5 and ENTER Key when DVD loaded.
4) Wait for some time. If you see installation screen, you are almost done. Go through the installation process.
Go to disk utility and create a partition if you can’t see installation disk.
5) I got the following warning message at end of installation. It’s not an issue, just restart the Virtual machine.
Note – Shutdown and Restart will not happen normally, you have to do it manually from VirtualBox console. You have to load empireEFI ISO again to load from installed hard disk.
6) This time, select mac hard disk by right arrow key and press Enter to boot. I’m sure after several initial configurations you will land on Snow Leopard desktop successfully.
Let’s Check and Fix Some Issues in Snow Leopard in Oracle VirtualBox 3.2
1) Network Network worked out of the box. NAT and Bridged type worked without any patches.
2) 10.6.3 Update in VirtualBox Mac OS X Guest Yes, it worked. I downloaded combo update and successfully updated.
updated- 10.6.4 update also worked nicely with this method.
3) USB Support It worked well. Somehow data transfer is little slow, but manageable. It detected my USB hard disk and flash drive.
4) Sound in Mac OS X Guest Sound is a little issue here, but worked. I’m sure you are not going to connect 5.1 speakers, watch movies and listen songs. So follow these steps to install Sound drivers. For me it worked, one side speaker worked with little distraction. Something is better than nothing.
Updated- Try this driver for easy installation through pkg file.
If you are not happy with it then try manual method.
Download this driver file; extract the AppleAC97Audio.kext file on Snow Leopard desktop.
Open Terminal, (/applications/utilities/terminal.app) Type sudo -s in terminal then your admin password following this, now you should be root.
Type
sudo mv /users/(YOUR USERNAME)/desktop/AppleAC97Audio.kext /system/library/extensions
At this point the file AppleAC97Audio.kext should have disappeared from the desktop.
Type
sudo chmod -R 755 /System/Library/Extensions/AppleAC97Audio.kext
Type
sudo chown -R root:wheel /System/Library/Extensions/AppleAC97Audio.kext
Now, CLOSE TERMINAL, then go to /system/library/caches/com.apple.kext.caches/ and trash Extensions.mkext (This cache will regenerate automatically on boot with the current kext library) Reboot and enjoy sound support! Original Source is here.
5) Screen Resolution and Screen Size Follow the steps to adjust screen size. Wide screen size didn’t work for some users.
6) Shutdown and Restart We can’t shutdown or restart Mac VM normally. You may see messages showing ‘CPU halted’ (for Shutdown) or ‘MACH Reboot’ (for restart), this means nothing will happen after it. Power off or reset virtual machine from VirtualBox console. Here is the working Snow Leopard Guest on VirtualBox 3.2.
7) Update 1
Install Boot Loader permanently and some fixes
To avoid attaching empireEFI ISO every time and boot OS X virtual machine, you can install boot loader permanently on mac local hard disk. This method will install Chameleon boot loader, and some other drivers and fixes.
Go to Empire EFI CD, which already mounted and open Post Installation folder. Take a snapshot before do anything at this point. Run myHack Installer Package.
Select Customize in Installation Type. 
Read each package description and select if it requires for your hardware. I recommend to not deselecting anything, which selected by default. Press Install button to continue. 
After successful installation, remove empireEFI ISO. Start virtual machine, it should boot from hard disk as shown below. 
If this doesn’t work, restore VM to last snapshot and install Chameleon boot loader from separate installation file in Post Installation folder. After this installation, boot loader worked and I can see good performance in OS X virtual machine on my Intel Core2Duo PC.
8.) Update 2
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 Mac retail DVD to VB. Convert DVD with some cloning software to ISO. More people faced same issue and solutions are suggested here.
b) Booting errors after installation. Try with verbose or Boot Ignore Caches. In empireEFI boot loader, go to mac disk by pressing right arrow key. Once it’s selected, press down arrow key that will bring more options. Select and press Enter. 
c) Change Boot Loader For old type processors, select legacyempire_efi1085.iso, which will be in same folder.
if this boot loader and method doesn’t work on Intel processor then try this method with different iboot loader.
9) Shared folder between mac guest and Windows host, read this post ( Point 3) Network required.
10) Update 3 ( 17-02-2011)
- USB disks access gives trouble with same guide in Oracle VirtualBox 4. Snow Leopard virtual machine crashes when trying to explore USB storages such as flash disk and external hard disk. If you face the same problem, then check this guide how to fix this issue.
- IOUSBFamily.kext and IOUSBMassStorageClass.kext files should be replaced to older version immediately after the software or manual update to 10.6.5 or 10.6.6 before restart. If not, USB mouse,keyword, USB storage devices may stop working after the update. Read this guide on fixing USB issues after update.
Again, this method is just for learning and testing purpose. Feel free to share your comments and issues you face. I’m not Mac or VB expert, but I will try my best to help you.
Don’t miss subscribing to sysprobs.
Have Fun.
Hey Dinesh! I didn’t select anything. Was “MAC OS X” then after upgrading switch by itself to “server”.
I’m having trouble running this, the EFI screen comes up, but the image will not boot.
I’ve tried this with several images for SL and an original disk.
My Laptop is running an AMD processor, but it is PAE/NX, VT-x, Nesting Page enabled.
Is there no way to run this in VB on an AMD host?
Cheers,
Paul.
I have a question before I continue reading this tutorial, does this work in AMD?
If so, what else should I do?
Thanks!
I’m new to Hackintosh in general so I don’t know the answer to this.
How can I be sure that the Empire EFI, or the “myHack Installer” don’t have trojans or other malware built into them?
I installed 10.6.3 from an Apple retail DVD, but I’m concerned that the Empire EFI and other software I needed to install could, in principle, be infected with malware.
There is a better audio driver in
http://forums.virtualbox.org/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=30843
It can be installed in a easier way.
For AMD users,
One user reported as below,
awaken says:
June 1, 2010 at 4:59 pm
wow! thank you Tom! it worked!
using the legacy empireefi for amd and core i5m I installed the 10.6.3 retail.
perfect.
thank you all!!
Select the legacy efi boot loader for AMD processors. I didn’t try.
@Karmic Alice, I meant to say when we install snow leopard on virtualbox 3.2.2, select Mac OS X Server as guest. Thanks for your reply.
@planck_length, when we talk about ‘hack’ or ‘crack’, we cant forget malware as you say. You are 100% correct. As long as you keep guest and host separate and secure, I think it will be OK. My personal opinion.
@Luiz Angelo Daros de Luca, I pointed the same driver file which mentioned in virtualbox forum. If it works for you then its great.
Thanks all for your comments.
Yes, the driver is the same. However, there is a user friendly setup. It is better than kext install procedures.
http://forums.virtualbox.org/download/file.php?id=2307&sid=c259ea40ab2c751e2a264671b510381c
planck_length Then if u freak out easily about viruses, malware and stuff… switch to linux. I am new to linux and is my world now. I’m like fish in the water. Try it and you will probably never go back to windows again.
Dinesh:) We say the same. But you speak about a nwe install and I was saying what happened to my virtual OS X AFTER I upgraded the VB.
@Dinesh and @Karmic Alice: Thank you both for your comments. I’m thinking of developing iPhone/iPad apps and didn’t want to have to buy another computer, hence being able to run OS X alongside Windows is a great plus (I use Linux too, but I have to develop for Windows, which is why I use it as my primary OS – I could have bought a Mac but they’re expensive in Australia).
If I’m writing code on OS X and Empire EFI contains an unknown root kit that that does malicious stuff, then obviously it’s a bad idea to use it for writing apps.
I guess I should write to whoever wrote Empire EFI to see if they can give out all the source code – that would reassure me.
Installs fine and works off empire efi.
Boot stops when using chameleon 2 rc3/4 or my hack at the line
ethernet link up xxxxxxxx no flow control, debug.
any help wud be appreciated
Apro
Well, thanks to this tutorial everything worked fine and now I am with Mac OS X Snow Leopard Virtualized.
I used this EFI for AMD Processor: http://www.mediafire.com/?m5wzzwyfg4m
I have a problem now with the tutorial, the link in the audio section where it says: “Download this driver file;”; doesn’t work.
Can you please give another link or alternative to the audio configuration?
Many many thanks for this tutorial! =)
Hi again… Sry for double posting but I’ve seen another problem.
I enter the System Profiler and I saw that the system recognized only 1 GB of RAM, in virtualbox I configured it to have 2 GB… any idea?
for the audio configuration, if you do not want to install the kext file manually, there is an installation package.
For details, please refer to:
http://www.takwing.idv.hk/tech/virtual/faq/sound_in_SL.html
@planck_length : if you don’t feel safe in using EmpireEFI, why not simpyl use VB’s EFI?
@dinesh: the problem was in my install dvd image that I made starting from a physical dvd bundled with a mac mini. OSInstall.mpkg has an additional routine that checks for the machine name which has to be “Macmini3,1″. So I hacked the EmpireEFI to use the correct machine name. Now I have just finished the install on VBox 3.2.4 and it seems to work.
@mammeta, Thanks for infor. Can you explain more? It will be useful for other users.
@takwing: VBs EFI didn’t work for me.
Yes, built in VB EFI boot loader didn’t work for me too. Thats why I used different boot loader.
Thanks big for article. I long could not establish OS X Snow Leopard on VBox. Read article in native (Russian) language. However even badly knowing English language under your article all has made from the first.
At me only it has not turned out to establish Wide screen though in options I write 1440х900х32, all the same высталяет on a format 4:3. Can eat the decision of this problem somewhere?
oh, it’s really good! thanx a lot!
About the screen resolution with widescreen:
If the selected video mode is not one of the vesa options, it will not work. Howevver, Vbox permit to define custom vesa modes. For example, to use 1280x800x32, use:
VBoxManage setextradata ‘Mac OSX’ “CustomVideoMode1″ “1280x800x32″
And also set the resulution in com.apple.Boot.plist.
Sorry about my bad english.
A lot of thank’s to Dinesh, VirtualBox team and all guys that make this posible.
Now i have the last mac OS virtualized on my dear GNU/Linux.
Incredible!!!!!!!
Para los de la tierra, este post es la polla.
after I done step 3, i mount os x iso and wait, but nothing happens..anyone can help me out??? thx..
Is there any way to tell empire efi to detect more than just 1 GB??
I’m stuck with that.
Thanks!
Anybody successfully done this on Win7 64-bit?
@Pooch Me, any problem?
I have SL booting in VB with the EVI boot disk on win 7 64bit. This is on an AMD laptop, I just cannot get either of the boot leaders on the EFI disk to work, so I can boot the VB machine directly.
Anyone got any tips to help me with?
PS thank god for VBs snapshots.
OK, I have tried with my restore discs but nothing, it doesn´t want to boot it ejects my drive so what can I do?
P.D: quino, ahi le has dao.
@quinillo, what do you mean by ‘restore discs’?
Hi, I love to try Mac OS X in VirtualBox at least, but I have an Acer Aspire One netbook with 1GB RAM and Intel Atom 1.6 Ghz. Could I do it? By the way, could you detail the part that is ejected EFi Empire iso and load the iso of Mac? What about the part where you have to create a partition in Disk Utility?
And another thing, can I use an iso cracked, for example, iATKOS or iDeneb?
Thank you very much!
@Javier If you have iatkaos you don’t need anything of this tutorial. iatkos v7 installs without a problem in virtualbox.
Hello again! I try to install iATKOS S3 (Snow Leopard 10.6.3), following the tutorial on this page: http://www.takwing.idv.hk/tech/virtual/iatkos_s3/index.html.
It seems much easier than with a normal installation with ISO/ DVD “retail” of Snow Leopard, and then would not I’ll need so many hacks, or the Empire Efi, etc., to function properly?
I wish you told me (V3nom) if you’ve tried it with iATKOS in Virtualbox and it works well. My msn is javimedinap@hotmail.com and my Gmail is javiermedina96@gmail.com if you want to talk
Greetings!
@Javier, Yes, installing hacked versions is easier than retail installation. I mentioned this method for ‘retail’ versions only.
You All should try this guide, it doesn’t need any kext or empireEFI at all & it works for me
http://martinml.com/en/how-to-install-mac-os-x-snow-leopard-in-virtualbox/
Hi i cannot see my mouse at the empire efi screen to select my snow leopard iso. it is on there and i pressed f5 but nothing happens.
@shadowseal45 : use arrow keys ( left or right arrow) to select the ISO file. mouse may not work on EFI screen.
@Mark Raju Thanks that helped!
Ummmm……….wait it says a critical error has occured while running the vm……..Could this be from a bad iso?
@shadowseal45, what kind of processor you are using? Intel, AMD, 32 Bit or 64 bit? I don’t think it will be related to bad ISO. Some processor or boot loader issue.
I have an intel processor, running windows 7, and I’m pretty sure it is 64-bit , any way to check I it’s 32 or 64?
After the upgrade to 10.6.3 or 10.6.4 the system goes to kernel panic and don’t boot…
Everyone can help me?
Hello @Dinesh
Thanks for this tutoriall!
However, i have a crach (http://twitpic.com/22ouaz/full) sometime.
For example, this message appears when a launch in Windows “google chrome” …
PC configuration
- Intel Core2Duo 2.66GHz (VT Enabled, 64 Bit Architecture supports)
- 2 GB of memory with 1,3GB for Snow Leopar
- Nvidia geForce 8500 GT
@mahere88, Yes, I could see the error. But I couldn’t figure out the connection between Windows Chrome and Mac VM. I suspect on two factors,
1) Make processor core to 1
2) Reduce memory size for Mac VM ( make it 1GB)
As I could see you are using Windows 7 as host and Google chrome ( Both have only 748MB memory) browser, there could be a memory shortage or over lapping issue.
thanks it worked perfectly even with the 10.6.4 update!
Just a little suggestion:
if you like to have an idiot proof instruction page, please add into the instructions to press ENTER after the dvd change (from the bootloader to the install disk), and not only F5.
A stupid and idiot friend
@Jack, Thanks for the suggestion.How I and others missed?
You are a nice friend.
Please help.
only message i seem to get is ACPI table not found: DSDM.aml
Install goes fine but i never get to boot into OSX after install.
I boot from loader then run the HDD but always get a black screen.
Any ideias?
Please help, tried everything.
Is there boot loader for AMD processor, I have retail Snow Leopard 10.6.1 but I can’t use EFI bootloader. I got from http://osx86.net/f7/empire-efi-4-amd-with-sb600-t4987/ that said EFI support for AMD. But each time I boot using EPI I got kernel panic failed to load kext es.osx86.driver.Ev0reboot
If you have boot loader for AMD please post it, thanks
@James,
What type of processor and OS you are using? Have you attached hard disk to SATA or IDE?
@Ariston,
I have updated post ( Under Required Products) with AMD boot loader. Several users reported its working for AMD. Try and let us know.
Good luck
That error i mentioned above was my bad, sorry.
and i must say, my OSX86 VM is working with only 512MB (i could use 1GB but my machine has only 1.5GB and i still want to run other things at the same time). But it works and is usable. Network worked out of the box, sound installed the driver but it really isn’t that great..
The OSX86 DVD i used doesn’t need a boot loader to be installed after install, it installs a boot loader and the VM boots straight from the HDD.
One other thing, if i choose other location besides US during OS install, i couldn’t pass through the menu “Do you already own a Mac” – it just hangs there forever.
So, after figuring that out… install went fine and after reboot i still couldn’t get into the OS (kernel panic IOATAFamily).
Tried different installs of the OSX86 with and without IOATAFamily fix kexts but the problem remained.
So, after install and after this kernel panic… went to Vbox VM options and changed the HDD Storage Controller Type from IDE ICH6 to SATA.
It then booted normally into OS
Thanks for the reply anyway and i hope i can help someone too…
Cheers
@James, then my guess is correct. I got the same error message once and after changed to IDE to SATA or SATA to IDE, it worked. cool
hi,
I tried to install snow leopard in vitual box using empire efi boot loader.but the iso image didnt start up.in iso image there is inbuilt chameleon boot loader i started it and installed successfully but it hangs up at grey screen with apple lgo only.what can i do?
hi,
i have iso file with in built loader.i successfully installed it but didnt able to start up.it hangs at grey screen with apple only.what can i do?empire efi isnt working with the iso image i have.
When i try to put in my snow leopard iso….it says memory allocation error…….What does that mean???
Hi
When I get to the point where Empire EFI has loaded and I swap the CD for my OS X 10.6 disc and press F5 (as instructed) then I just get the following error message:
EBIOS read error: Error 0x0c
Block 0x1ed48a Sectors 0
Any idea what could be causing this?
System spec:
Acer Extensa 5635
Intel Core2Duo
3GB DDR2 800
Windows7 Ultimate – 32bit
Virtual Box version 3.2.6r63112
empireEFIv1085 – Burnt to CD
Mac OS X Snow Leopard – Original DVD
Thank you very much for this guide.
I have a question. Is snow leopard suitable for pre-Intel Macs?
Thanks in advance.