This is just an add on update for my previous post Install Mac Snow Leopard in VMware Player. I couldn’t test the earlier method in AMD processor computer. After several days with some user comments, this post shows how to install Mac Snow Leopard on AMD PC by same VMware Image.
The boot loader came with this download works with Intel 32 Bit host only. To run SL in AMD PC, we need different boot loader. Thanks to Santosh for mentioning it.
Steps for Snow Leopard in AMD Processor PC
1) Download darwin legacy boot loader here.
2) VMware image, mentioned in this post.
3) Extract the both downloads.
4) Open VMX file in VMware player or workstation.
5) Browse darwin_snow_legacy.iso to CD Rom of virtual machine. Make sure CD Rom set as first boot device.
6) Start Snow leopard virtual machine. I’m sure you will land on desktop with out any issues. Recently a user confirmed this method worked for AMD and 64 Bit Host with following configuration.
500GB Hard Drive
AMD Athlon II 620, 4 cores @ 2.6 GHz
4GB DDR3 RAM
Windows 7 Home Premium x64
7) Follow the other steps mentioned here to change language, sound, mac admin password, networking, upgrades and VMware tools.
Read Also,
How to Install Mac OS X 10.5.5 Leopard on VirtualBox 3.1.4
Install Mac Snow Leopard on Oracle VirtualBox 3.2 in Non Apple, Intel PC
How to Increase Mac OS X Virtual Machine Screen Resolution in VirtualBox, VMware Player
Run Mac OS X on PC, Free and Easy with VMware Player 3
I don’t have AMD PC to demonstrate these steps but I’m hoping this will work as reported by some users.
Please do share your issues with this method, don’t forget to drop a comment if Snow Leopard 10.6.3 VMware image works in AMD processor computer.
@Dinesh,
Thanks very much for your guide following it carefully made it work like a charm on my pc.
@Dave
Thanks Dave for your info it helped me very well, at least I won’t think about why my installed mac has a lag everytime, CHEERS!!!!
I’m runin MAC on the following specs:
AMD Sempron 140 single core
2 GIG DDR3 memory
ECS M6P61M-M3 motherboard
No graphic card
Thank you so much this is perfectly working on my compaq with amd cpu. Be sure that your pc has hardware virtualization and it is enabled. To check h/w virtualization you can download s/w(i used securable.exe) and if it is not enabled you can do it in bios settings.Thank you so much for this author
pura vida! funciona perfecto!!!
me salvó la vida
I had no luck with this
I have Athlon 620 Quad core and I followed these steps with Snow Leopard 10.6.7 version but it does not work. Any new suggestions?
I too had the Athlon 620 quad core. It was successfully done on my pc. Better you try it again.
Tell me exactly where are you getting problem, after installation or before itself.
Tell me clearly i can help you
I get the “The cpu is turned off…” message on boot screen (when apple logo comes up). I set first boot device to be CD drive with darvin_snow_legacy.iso but I think it doesn’t boot it. I should get some menu when darvin iso boots? I use Snow Leopard 10.6.7 with Vmware 8 version. Also tried with Lion
…before installation that is.
is it saying about virtualization
To all you guys having trouble with Snow Leopard versions. Its a bit pointless trying versions after 10.6.6, as the benefits are minimal, and very often will not boot! Until someone releases a darwin snow iso for running Lion (10.7) on an AMD machine, because Apple reworked the kernel and kexts (drivers), it will not run on AMD cpu`s.
It seems a few people had some success running versions 10.7 and 10.8, but I think they may be lucky enough to have compatible motherboards/drivers, as most often these versions have trouble running on most setups, (mine included).
Although you may have a pre-made Vmware SL, it doesn`t mean it will automatically run!
You MUST have virtualisation turned on in the Bios, and your machine (mostly) will have this option, (which usually is turned off by default), so make sure this is set on, otherwise you WILL get the dreaded `cpu is turned off` message!
Make sure when booting that darwin_snow_legacy is in the cd drive.
See if this helps….also have a look at my(and others) older posts on installation.
OOPs….made a boob….I meant 10.6.7 and 10.6.8….Duh1
No nothing. My hardware supports hardware virtualization I checked it. Maybe the problem is because darvin iso isn’t booting. Don’t know why. I tried several different iso.
I think your problem is in trying to boot SL 10.6.7 in the first place. Its a difficult beast to get running at all, if you don`t have compatible hardware.
(as a tip, make sure you have VMWare version 7.1 or higher, lower versions might lock up)
Its best to try the tried and tested SL 10.6 first, to see if your machine will boot that up. You can then be sure that your machine will (happily I hope) run it. Then try later versions of SL VMware images.
Whtever you do, DO NOT run the Apple udate packages. If you do, or if you try to install/run the VMware 10.6.6 image, you lose the mouse and keyboard functions!
I described how to restore the mouse/keyboard functions & restoring a lost Admin Password using v10.6, in an earlier older post.
Also how to go about installing Snow Leopard using the SETUP DVD SL10a432 (you can browse for it) which installs the system from base, together with the SL 10.6 setup files (again browse for it…freely available).
I know VMware images save time setting up, but this is an alternative if all else fails. I hope this helps, let me know if it works.
If it doesn`t, I think your cpu may be the culprit. Make sure you have AT LEAST, 2Gigs ram, or it will run painfully slow……if at all.
Windows 7 is still better….
I am having a problem with this , I am using window 7 32 bit with vmware player 4.xx(latest for vmware player)
Windows xp and darwin ISO can boot and work well as virtual machines , but when i run mac snow leopard (posted torrent) actualization not supported error comes, What is the problem with my system
I am having a problem with this , I am using window 7 32 bit with vmware player 4.xx(latest for vmware player)
Windows xp and darwin ISO can boot and work well as virtual machines , but when i run mac snow leopard (posted torrent) virtualization not supported error comes, What is the problem with my system
My cpu is AMD athlon 64 x2 4800
are you getting enable hardware virtualization. software is available in net to check whether your mac supports virtulization.is it say yes, then you can go to bios settings while booting windows and enable hardware virtualization, it works
Yes i enabled virtualization , And other OSs are working fine in the virtual machine
“software is available in net to check whether your mac supports virtulization” what is it ?
As i am using an AMD cpu i thing the OS must load through the AMD compatible darwine iso(which i have)then the os must load , How to set the vmware player virtual machines first boot drive as my darwine ISO
Are you making sure you are using the darwin_snow_legacy iso? The ordinary darwin_snow is only for Intel cpu`s. Snow Leopard will only load successfully with the legacy file. Make sure when you select the cd drive, that you have browsed to the files location, and selected it.Just select the drive,click on the right-hand select option,and browse to the sl legacy iso, click on it to mount it…simples!
If you stll get a virtualisation error i.e, then if your doing everything else right, then your cpu/mb may be unable to correctly initialise it, sorry!
Do MAKE SURE that cpu virtualisation option is selected (ticked) in the bios options.
Also you have not said what version of Snow Leopard you are trying to boot. Try 10.6.0 first.
Look at previous posts to see how.
I’m interested in as to whether any one has tried this on an amd laptop?
Yes,my Acer Aspire 7530 Turion Mobile x2 core 2.1 Ghz runs everything I throw at it. It has run VMware versions 7.1 & 8 with Windows (all versions), Snow Leopard 10.6, 10.62, 10.66 (desktop/server), & all different Linux versions at quite acceptable speeds.
Netbooks will probably not run anything useful.
I am getting the Error: Invalid front side bus. 660000…. Plz help
Atanu…if you need help, tell us what your system is, what exactly is your cpu,motherboard, how much memory.etc. Also what you are trying to do, boot Snow Leopard (what version?), and how you are trying to do it.
Hi atanu, if you need help, you have not said what your system is, what type is your cpu & motherboard, how much memory, etc. Also what are you trying do do, boot snow leopard (what version?), and how?
Have you made sure you have enabled virtualisation in the bios settings? If you let us know as much info as possible, will try to help
Would really like to use this on my really crappy personal hp dv9000 amd 64bit proc I have bios setting on but it says “The Host does not support all of the hardware virtualization features required by vmware works” can anyone help please contact me
Hi Sean. Whats your cpu? Late Athlon/Phenom cpu`s should run it. Also what version of Snow Leopard are you trying to run? There`s a lot of factors that you have to have right before you can run SL. Make sure you`re running VMWare 7.1 or greater, as earlier versions can have problems with this.
I`ve found its best to try and install SL 10.6.0 first, to see if that will work.. Have a look at all the previous posts for help on installing, to save yourself a lot of grief.
Please don`t expect it to run as fast as the host system, (unless you`ve got a super whizz-bang hot-rod Formula 1 setup!).
If you have set your cpu`s virtualisation setting ON in the bios,and its definetely set, it may be that your trying to install SL versions higher than 10.6.0. I`ve found most peoples problems are from trying to install 10.6.6, 10.6.7, 10.6.8, and even Lion. (which currently doesn`t work on AMD cpu`s).
Just a thought, are you using the Snow Leopard legacy iso in the cd drive? It does require that.
Dave thanks boss for posting I have used the 10.6.4 image linked above and 10.6.7 which i realize now would not have worked i am running 32 bit win 7 and havdetectiontool.exe claims my virtualization is on for my machine but no luck. I cannot seem to find an image for 10.6.0 but it ok i will go from there thanks so much for this i really only want this ability to assist clients who has this brand os as all my machines are win boxes helps me visualize not worried about speed at all thanks for helping
Hi Sean, if your having trouble installing, have a good look on previous older posts.(Look underneath where it says “Older Comments”). I gave a guide to setting up using the Snow Leopard 10a432.iso disk from scratch, try the http://www.isohunt.com site or other sites torrent downloads for it, (naughty,I know!).
If you`re still looking for a step-by-step guide, I`ll try to help if you need it.
Oh…Info tools (like detectiontool.exe) do not always tell the truth! Always check in the bios!
Hi,I tried booting up with darwin_snow_legacy.iso. The Empire EFI boots up but I don’t know how to proceed after that. It says eject your EMPIRE EFI boot disc and Insert your MAC OS X Snow Leopard Disc and then Hit F5 to continue. Do I have to create a MAC OS X Snow Leopard Disc or something else. How can I proceed after that?
Thanks
Hi Mandy. Are you trying to boot a VMWare image, if so, what version? If you booted up the the snow legacy/EFI iso, you should see on the screen another snow leopard icon next to it.Select that and try installing.
If not, if you have a snow leopard disk (like the 10a432 iso version, eject the boot disk and insert that to install.
I strongly suggest you have a good look at all the older posts which advise about installing snow leopard, (look below where it says “post comment” and look for `older comments`. You will find if you scroll back amongst all the older stuff, a load of information about installing snow leopard, and a lot of solved problems people have had.
Hope this helps, but if you get stuck, will try to help.(PS. always give as much info about your setup as possible, i.e. cpu, cpu speed, memory size, vmware version,etc)
I just got this to work on windows 7 64bit amd x4 640 3.6ghz 4 gig ram. I did have to update it to workstation 8 and knock down the number of processors running from 1/2 to 1/1. That got rid of the disabled cpu message. Does not run the fastest but it does run now.
Thank you for all the info on here.
What the password?
123
Mr DInesh, it worked perfectly, from the start, on my machine.
My specs:
Athlon II 250 (dual core at 3 GHz)
Corsair 2 GB at 1333 MHz
MB Asus 785G EVO, integrated sound card (VIA)
XFX GeForce 9600 GT
I’ve mounted the image in VM Workstation, it allocated one core, 1 GB of memory to the virtual machine.
It hadn’t recognize my grafic card to full extent, but it rendered desktop normaly. Audio is chopy. I must emphasize that all this is “out of the box” state, without tampering with the system.
All best regards, thank you!
First of all thanks a lot for the nice tutorial….. I did the exact same thing on my ( AMD athlon II neo K325 1.3GHZ,4GB ram, VM version : 8.0.0 build-471780) laptop and it doesnt even go to the apple logo screen and i keep getting the following message,
“A fault has occurred causing a virtual CPU to enter the shutdown state. If this fault had occurred outside of a virtual machine, it would have caused the physical machine to restart. The shutdown state can be reached by incorrectly configuring the virtual machine, a bug in the guest operating system, or a problem in VMware Workstation.Click OK to restart the virtual machine or Cancel to power off the virtual machine.”
what does it mean? thanks….
should i go with a previous version of apple os?? so far i have tried lion and snow leopard,and had no luck with them. I just want to run xcode and develop iphone stuff for “mobile application development” module in my college. could you recommend me a good version?? ( its a pain to download big files, as here in sri lanka internet connections are damn slow, mine is only 512kbps :/ ) thanks.