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.
UPDATE: Must have hung, restarted from the top and install went through mind it took 2-3 hours. Installing myHack has taken 1 hour so far.
Intel Core 2 Duo L9400 @ 1.86
3GB RAM
Windows XP
Virtual Machine
1GB RAM
42Mb Graphics
How can I speed this thing up?
No disks appear in the “Select the disk where you want to install Mac OS X” box… why?
@Luca,
by the time now you could have figured out.
” Go to disk utility and create a partition if you cant see installation disk.” already mentioned in this post.
It works! sorry :p
how long is it supposed to take after you load the sl disc with efi.
I appear to be stuck with an empty black screen.
thanks
@gastromagig,
It should start immediately. Can’t you see anything after loading disk? Is it retail DVD version? Just check the virtual machine’s disk activity.
Tell me about the processor and OS version. It can be an issue with boot loader or installation DVD. Good luck.
i’m having an intel core i3 530 ;ram{2+2}gb; 500gb cgate hard disk; &windows 7 .im very much desirant of having mac os x snow leopard installed on my pc.can you suggest me wether it is possible.
@ joshua,
Yes, you can. Make sure your computer supports Virtualization Technology ( VT) in BIOS.
Dinesh, thanks for the guide. I followed the instruction but stuck after F5 and enter. I got error message stating Darwin x86:
ACPI Table not found: DSDT.aml
Starting Darwin X86
Press any key to continue…
Here is the screenshot:
http://lh3.ggpht.com/_VpAReqNKg50/TKnX8Dm568I/AAAAAAAAApU/_YLyR_4jPF8/oxsinstallhung.png
After a pressed any key at that point, it simply hung.
Would you please offer some advice. My system is
Software: Windows 7 32bit, VB 3.2.6, Snow Leapard 10.6.3.
Hardware: Lenovo X201 Laptop with Core i5 M520 CPU.
Thanks much!
@gastromagig,
I’m having exactly same problem as you did. Did you solved your problem?
OK, I fixed my problem. The empire EFI doesn’t work with my i5 CPU. I used the iBoot-supported from here: http://tonymacx86.blogspot.com/2010/04/iboot-multibeast-install-mac-os-x-on.html, and it is installing now. Will update once it is completed.
OK, installed successfully with iBoot that I mentioned in my last comment. Thanks!
Just FYI, for folks like to stick with empire EFI, I found out that the latest-to-date iso that supports Core i CPUs works fine too. I didn’t actually do the installation but was I able to boot up the SL installer DVD.
http://prasys.info/2010/07/empireefi-1-085-for-osx-10-6-3-is-out/
@Kenneth,
Thanks for your comments and inputs.I started checking with latest release of EFI especially for Intel i series processors. You gave an idea to publish a new post
Yes, iBoot works well on latest Intel processors which already covered in Sysprobs here,
http://www.sysprobs.com/iboot-loader-virtualbox-install-snow-leopard
@gastromagig,
Try the latest EFI or iBoot loader as mentioned here.
Let us know the status.
I am hoping someone can answer a pretty simple question for me. I am assisting on a hackintosh install in VirtualBox out of Linux on a Lenovo W510 notebook. Are the hardware kexts specific to the host machine’s physical hardware or is every install the same despite the host machine. I mean the hardware that the guest sees is emulated right? Excuse the ignorance.
@flynflip,
This method will work on Linux too as long it detects VT. Recently one reader confirmed the successful installation on Fedora host.
You can try without any doubts.
can some one help i install the ma on my pc
and it work but if i try to get update to ver 10.64 what is need to the new safari my computer crash after the reast and
i try to to the update from apple web site
@gil,
Did you install any hacked version SL? if you installed original retail version, then update should not be an issue.
If you used hazard hackintosh version, use the following method to update to 10.6.4
http://www.sysprobs.com/install-update-snow-leopard-hazard-1064-vmware-player
Yes Dinesh, we have successfully installed SL 10.6.3 in VirtualBox with some limitations. My question though is if the kexts needed to get things like graphics and sound are specific to the host machine’s hardware or are the kexts all the same no matter what the host machine is because the hardware is emulated? In other words, if I did this install on 30 different host machines with different hardware would the kexts be the same for each install or different depending on the host’s hardware. Thanks a lot for your help
@flynflip,
I got your question.
I’m not expert in kexts but based on this installation and your question I can answer as below,
If we install directly on physical computer ( several methods available to install SL on Intel,AMD hardware directly), yes, kexts should be modified to communicate to physical hardware. Here, its installed on virtual platform which is same for all. OS works with virtual devices which is not having direct access on physical hardware.
we can expect some improvements after VirtualBox release guest additions for Mac OS X which will never happen due to licensing and conditions.
Hope I answer your question.
@Dinesh, thank you for your response. I didn’t know the existence of your iBoot page. Otherwise it would have saved my day. Google search always led to this page. So it would be great if you can mention this in the empire EFI part of this guide to warn readers with Core i series CPUs to use iBoot instead. Actually even the latest EFI failed post-installation steps. Only EasyBeast works, and you must upgrade to 10.6.4 to get it work. The order is very important. And getting screen resolution working is also tricky. I have noted down those things in this post: http://kennethxu.blogspot.com/2010/10/install-snow-leopard-on-virtualbox-with.html
@Kenneth,
Yes, thats a good suggestion.
Checked your blog post and blog. Special thanks for linking back to my blog.
Keep up your good work.
Wonderful article , i was trying to install vm for a year but no luck.. i m going to try your steps…
Yes, Dinesh. You answered perfectly. Thanks a whole lot. I have set up a page at http://www.flynflip.com/Hackintoshing/WIP/W510_VB.asp helping out a fella installing Snow Leopard on VirtualBox running out of Linux Mint. I actually ran it out of Ubuntu to assist him. There might be information there to help someone else. I used info from your webpage in creating it. Just wanted to say Thanks! I will organize the page better once we are completely done. I am going to link your page from mine if that’s OK.
@flynflip,
That would be great if you give a back link.
Checked your post, its having very useful screen shots.
For Intel i series processors, check this post for using different boot loader,
http://www.sysprobs.com/iboot-loader-virtualbox-install-snow-leopard
Thanks for your response and back link.
I am using Darwin bootloader and Oracle VirtualBox 3.2.10…
While loading TMSafetyNet.kext from the Snow Leopard DVD(retail) I am getting an error message called
“Invalid Front Side Bus Frequency 45Hz…..Disabling the CPU”
My specs
Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo (2.8GHz)
Motherboard: DG41RQ
RAM: 4GB
Hard disk: 500GB
I don’t have any graphic cards
My pc is not a notebook but a desktop computer
@Suchith.J.N,
Can you boot the OS from darwin boot loader in VB? I suggest to use empireEFI boot loader with VB. Darwin never worked for me in VB except VMware for some reasons.
Kext installation may fail on virtual machine without physical environment, I’m not sure it will work perfectly.
I switch out for the leopard ISO and hit F5 and enter… and it runs through a bunch of cmd line stuff, ends with System uptime in nanoseconds: 612384449, and then just sits there.
Doesnt move on to install or anything, any ideas?
Thanks for the help and the tutorial so far,
Ryan
@Ryan, Whats your computer processor config and which boot loader you are using?
Something wrong on them.
@Dinsesh
Intel T8300, 2.4 ghz. I attempted both the boot loader from this tutorial, Empire EFI (tried mounting both the normal and the one labelled legacy) and I’ve tried another method just checking off the chameleon boot loader in OSX86 install options, both to no avail.
I consider myself very proficient in PCs but when it comes to virtualization, this is my first steps into the field haha. Hopefully that info helps, thank you
@Ryan,
I should have asked this question earlier.
‘ Is your processor supports Virtualization Technology? ‘
Please enable it and try.
Hope this will give some ideas and prove your self ‘proficient in PCs ‘ haha
Let me know the outcome
Virtualization is supported and enabled, that’s whats so confusing. As far as I know I followed the directions to a T. I’m starting to question if it’s my copy of OSX86 that could be the issue?
@Ryan,
The error related to processor, that means boot loader issue. I don’t think it will be a problem with installation medium.
Have you tried iBoot loader?
What ever boot loader you use, next time boot it with -v -legacy ( verbose and legacy mode) options. you can see the last error message, just share it here.
Sorry for late response.
When I hit F5, A message appears at the top left of the screen, under where the memory is displayed, saying:
“Memory allocation error (0xdaa2680, 0×20498)”
And it just sits there at the empire efi screen. The install never starts.
Experiencing exactly the same as Ryan
After swapping to snow leopard ISO, F5 and enter, I end up with the System uptime message too.
Prior to this message (further up the command line output) there are loads of messages for example:
Kext com.apple.iokit.IOACPIFamily failed to load
Kext com.apple.driver.AppleACPIPlatform failed to load
Kext es.osx86.driver.EvOreboot failed to load
(Each with error codes)
A bit further and:
Couldn’t alloc class “AppleACPIPlatformExpert”
Couldn’t alloc clas “es_osx86_EvOreboot”
Then my favourite bit:
“Please contact someone with a photo of the information printed below, along with a description of your system configurationa nd what you were doing at the time that the kernel panic occured. We apologize for the inconvenience.”
Experiencing exactly the same as Ryan
After swapping to snow leopard ISO, F5 and enter, I end up with the System uptime message too.
Prior to this message (further up the command line output) there are loads of messages for example:
Kext com.apple.iokit.IOACPIFamily failed to load
Kext com.apple.driver.AppleACPIPlatform failed to load
Kext es.osx86.driver.EvOreboot failed to load
(Each with error codes)
A bit further and:
Couldn’t alloc class “AppleACPIPlatformExpert”
Couldn’t alloc clas “es_osx86_EvOreboot”
Then my favourite bit:
“Please contact someone with a photo of the information printed below, along with a description of your system configurationa nd what you were doing at the time that the kernel panic occured. We apologize for the inconvenience.”
Running a AMD Phenom X4 9950 BE with Gigabyte GA-MA-790FX board (virtualization on in BIOS)
@Anon,
Running this methods on AMD is really difficult. Anyhow, are you trying correct boot loader for AMD? its available here,
http://www.mediafire.com/?m5wzzwyfg4m
Yeah urm because this install guide is a little complex, i made a short video on how to install it very very easily.
Its only 8mins 30 and by the end you will have fully functioning OS X 10.6.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NRsg1wGESIk
Your guide is good, but I haven’t got the file ISO of Mac Snow Leopard. Have you got it, or do you know where i download it?
Torrent sites should be your friend
, look for retail version.