Install Mac OSX in VMware Windows PC
This article explains step by step method to install Mac OSX in VMware on your Windows PC. If you are interested to learn something on Mac OS X 10.5.5 Leopard or do some testing on Mac OS, then you can continue read this article. This article is only for testing purpose. Whoever doesn’t have chance to buy apple hardware with Mac OS, can use this method to install and run Mac on VMware home Windows PC.
Installation is not ‘Very’ Easy
Installation is not easy as inserting the CD and click ‘Next’ ‘Next’ or running some executable files. I wanted to install and learn Macintosh OSX on Windows in my PC, so I searched on internet for possibilities to have Macintosh on Windows computer. The results returned nothing very useful other than changing your XP, Vista themes to Mac OS themes. Based on the other tips in several sites and after I did it practically, now I’m writing this method to install mac on VMware in Windows PC.
But still I like to share what I found when I searched,
This video shows nicely how to change the XP theme to Mac OS theme. It looked as good video. But when I tried to install it…., guess what? Anti-virus popped up. I left it. You can try how to change the XP theme to Mac OS theme if you want.
Step by step to change the Windows theme to Mac
But I’m talking about real Mac. As I said earlier installation is not very easy since both OS hardware platform requirements are different, Mac can be installed on Virtual PC on your PC. To make the installation easy, in other word “to avoid the Mac installation”, we will just import the Mac OS pre-installed hard disk to your PC using VMware. Don’t be more confused, follow the below easy steps. Here are the requirements,
Software Requirements for Install Mac on VMware
Virtual PC software. Several virtual PC software available, but this method goes with VMware workstation since we will be using VMware hard disk image.
VMware workstation 6 or more
you can download the VMware workstation at VMware site here . Either you can try 30-day free evaluation version or buy the full version, but don’t ask crack.
Mac OS X 10.5.5 Leopard VMware image download
(Note – This is a torrent download)
Hardware Requirements:
Make sure after you installed VMware workstation, you have minimum below hardware resources to allocate for Mac OS.
RAM – 1GB
Hard Disk 15GB
Processor – Automatic allocation.
Install Mac on VMware Step by Steps
1) Install VMware Workstation.
2) Download Mac OSX 10.5.5 Leopard VMware Hard disk image. ( Approx Size – 1.9GB)
3) Extract the Image to a folder (You need WinRAR for extraction and extracted size is Approx 9.4GB). Make sure extraction is successful and you get all VMware files as below
4) Start VMware workstation and open the Mac OS X Leopard.vmx. ( In VMware go to File – Open from extracted place)
5) Once you open the correct vmx files, you can see the configurations which already done on the image. The below screen is the default one when you open it, before you power on the virtual PC. ( this is what I’m getting in my PC)
6) Make sure Guest OS should be ‘FreeBSD’. Even if you have Dual processor and have option to select two processors in VMware option, DO NOT change to two. Leave the Processors 1 only. Do not worry about Hard disk allocation 30GB. You can increase the memory size if you have memory resource in your computer.
7) That’s it click ‘Power on this virtual machine’. Now you should be able to see Mac OS.
In case your Mac stuck with following welcome screen for long time,
You must disable ‘Intel Hardware Virtualization’ from your BIOS. Note that any time you enable or disable the Hardware virtualization setting in the BIOS; one has to completely power off (cold restart) the CPU for 10 seconds before booting.
Read More about how to Disable or Enable Hardware Virtualization in BIOS
Now start the Mac on VMware again, this time it will work fine.
Network
Somewhere I read that Network will not working in Mac with VMware, but it works fine with this image. I tested ‘Bridged’ and ‘NAT’ networks in VMware. It worked fine.
Mac Admin Password
This OS image has Mac Admin password, the password is ‘password ‘.
Mac VMX File
Here is the correct VMX file for your reference
.encoding = “windows-1252″
config.version = “8″
virtualHW.version = “7″
scsi0.present = “TRUE”
scsi0.virtualDev = “lsilogic”
memsize = “1024″
scsi0:0.present = “TRUE”
scsi0:0.fileName = “Mac OS X Leopard-000001.vmdk”
ide1:0.present = “TRUE”
ide1:0.autodetect = “TRUE”
ide1:0.deviceType = “cdrom-raw”
floppy0.present = “FALSE”
ethernet0.present = “TRUE”
ethernet0.startConnected = “TRUE”
ethernet0.virtualDev = “e1000″
ethernet0.wakeOnPcktRcv = “FALSE”
usb.present = “TRUE”
ehci.present = “TRUE”
sound.present = “TRUE”
sound.fileName = “-1″
sound.autodetect = “TRUE”
mks.enable3d = “TRUE”
pciBridge0.present = “TRUE”
pciBridge4.present = “TRUE”
pciBridge4.virtualDev = “pcieRootPort”
pciBridge4.functions = “8″
pciBridge5.present = “TRUE”
pciBridge5.virtualDev = “pcieRootPort”
pciBridge5.functions = “8″
pciBridge6.present = “TRUE”
pciBridge6.virtualDev = “pcieRootPort”
pciBridge6.functions = “8″
pciBridge7.present = “TRUE”
pciBridge7.virtualDev = “pcieRootPort”
pciBridge7.functions = “8″
vmci0.present = “TRUE”
monitor.virtual_mmu = “automatic”
monitor.virtual_exec = “automatic”
roamingVM.exitBehavior = “go”
displayName = “Mac OS X Leopard”
guestOS = “freebsd”
nvram = “Mac OS X Leopard.nvram”
virtualHW.productCompatibility = “hosted”
ft.secondary0.enabled = “TRUE”
tools.upgrade.policy = “useGlobal”
extendedConfigFile = “Mac OS X Leopard.vmxf”
ide1:0.fileName = “auto detect”
ide1:0.startConnected = “FALSE”
ethernet0.addressType = “generated”
tools.syncTime = “FALSE”
uuid.location = “56 4d 4e 0f ea ce 5e 03-83 66 d3 86 b7 b4 42 e4″
uuid.bios = “56 4d 4e 0f ea ce 5e 03-83 66 d3 86 b7 b4 42 e4″
scsi0:0.redo = “”
vmotion.checkpointFBSize = “134217728″
pciBridge0.pciSlotNumber = “17″
pciBridge4.pciSlotNumber = “21″
pciBridge5.pciSlotNumber = “22″
pciBridge6.pciSlotNumber = “23″
pciBridge7.pciSlotNumber = “24″
scsi0.pciSlotNumber = “16″
usb.pciSlotNumber = “32″
ethernet0.pciSlotNumber = “33″
sound.pciSlotNumber = “34″
ehci.pciSlotNumber = “35″
vmci0.pciSlotNumber = “36″
ethernet0.generatedAddress = “00:0c:29:b4:42:e4″
ethernet0.generatedAddressOffset = “0″
vmci0.id = “660874947″
tools.remindInstall = “TRUE”
checkpoint.vmState = “”
ethernet0.connectionType = “nat”
Mac OSX in VMware under Windows check the different method..
does dis work on intel core based processors?????
yes, this works with intel core based 32bit processors.
Can you run install and run mac programs such as logic?
also will the internet browser work fine?
I tried, other Mac 32bit programs are working. browser and network also ok.
I have downloaded the Mac OS X 10.5.5 Leopard VMware image zip file but getting error while extracting. it says disk is full.
Fanindra. think about it.
what does disk is full mean?
what is a disk?
what does full mean?
why are you so stupid?
thank you whoever posted this. im sorry that people like fanindra have to make such ignorant posts.
people, READ EVERYTHING on your computer. and pay attention to what you read. otherwise you will end up destrying your system.
I have downloaded an installed all: it’s all ok! Great! Now I have a question: it’s possible to upgrade MAC OS to 10.5.8 version?
Thank’s a lot
Hey, how to run this mac in text mode?I want to install vmware tools.
Trying to see if I can run upgrade on it, dunno if will work.
But I need to be OSX 10.5.8 so I can do IPHONE work on it
Did you make the account not have read/write access to system files? I need to change the SystemVersion.plist file yet I don’t have write access to the file.
For those wondering, you can’t update to 10.5.8. It will crash and continuously reboot the virtual machine.
However, if you change the SystemVersion.plist file to say that you are using 10.5.8, then you can install the IPhone SDK 3.1.
Hi! Wanted to know if when i install some application and customiz the settings on MAC, will it be save permantely??
I mean, when i switch of my pc, do my settings n application be saved???
or it just an emulation and is temporary stored and all lost when the pc if switch off?
thx in advance… [[I need the answer before i install the MAC as i will use it often then if i keep my soft n settings]]
Thunks Its Working Gret Job Bro
Thunks Its Working Gret Job Bro
Thanks heaps, havnt tried yet – waiting for offpeak downloads
.
if this works as well as described, your a legend!
The image you mentioned is too big for me to download. I have an official mac Snow Leopard cd. What other applications do I need to be able to read this cd and install apple on a windows computer?
Thank you for posting this!
Does it work for AMD based?
Do you have OS X 10.6 VMWare Image?
Thanks!
Use Alcohol software to make ISO of MAC DVD. Make sure it should be for 32Bit. Still OSX 10.6 VMware not available. Will update later
Hi,
You must disable ‘Intel Hardware Virtualization’ from your BIOS??
How can i disable this? It stucks at the login like the image showed above.
Thanks in advance for the help..
Tiago Fernandes
Is there any chance to work on Vista X64 System?
It should be working if you select the processor type in VMWare virtual machine to 32bit, since this image supports 32bit processor only.
Thank you Admin. I just downloaded all the information listed in your site, followed the instructions and the machine booted up with no surprises. I am getting few console warning messages that I will work on it. I will aslo work on the VM Tools installation. I am running it on a Dell Precision M65 with 4 Gb of Ram and the HD is a SATA 320 Gb 7200 rpm. Workstation is a VM Ware Ace 6.5.3.
Again, thank you very much for your hard work.
Great deal there, pal!
Using it now but I want to update some softwares but it requires like a password?
Name: Mac Admin
Password: (May I know the password?)
Thanks in advance!
Sorry again for spamming but I think I’ve got it. Sorry!
TIAGO FERNANDES,check here http://virtualization.sysprobs.com/disable-enable-virtualization-technology-bios for how to disable Intel Hardware Virtualization from your BIOS.
Hi,
I tried to change the file SystemVersion.plist and I can’t, it tells me I don’t have enough appropiate access priviledge.
I make right click on the file (System/Library/CoreServices/SystemVersion.plist) and the GetInfo. In the section of “Sharing and permission” I put Read & Write to all….. but still I can’t modify it.
Can anybody help me?
Thanks in advance!
Juan
“You must disable ‘Intel Hardware Virtualization’ from your BIOS”
I have found this not to be so, my processor supports Hardware Virtualization but am not able to disable this feature within my BIOS.
I am using VMware Workstation 7 and have found if “VMware Kernal Paravirtualization” is checked in the processor settings of the virtual machine settings I can boot past the welcome screen.
Hi Friends,
Try Google’s new OS Chrome in VMware workstation.
http://virtualization.sysprobs.com/install-googles-os-chrome-virtual-machine
Hi i tried to build this setup but my keyboard and mouse are not working in the mac os please any advise me. Mouse and keyboard are (INTEX company)
Thanks in Advance
Hmm after Installing I find that the performance really sux
Anyway to improve this ?
At the moment I’m trying to install VMWARE tools, perhaps that will do something
Thanks for sharing
Unfortunately, we can’t do anything improve the performance in VMware workstation, other than disabling hardware virtualization in BIOS and increase RAM.
VMware tools can’t be installed in Mac. VMware does not support Mac as virtual machine. So FreeBSD VMware tools will not work with Mac anytime.
juan you need to be first set permission on CoreServices for read/write and secondly on SystemVersion.plist.now you can modify and save it.It works fine
it wont let me extract says no archives found. y?
It’s definitely something wrong with download, please check and download again.
When i extract the image, my computer just shuts down. no error messages.
one time i got a “Blue Screen Of Death”
i’ve got it.but when istart tve virtual machine, i got the welcome screen.
and when i use the vmx file yo show, it wont start at all.
Marvin, good to hear you extracted finally. You must disable Hardware Virtualization in motherboard BIOS. It is mentioned in same post and comments. Update me the status.
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Well done for getting this working!
But let’s add some honest here. This is barely unusable with its absolutely woeful performance. vmplayer isn’t the problem, I’ve run several OSes with in with both linux and vista as the host and guest, likewise with workstation. There’s something very odd about how slow the drive access is. It’s generally around 50-100x slower that native SSD access. I’ve never seen anything like it with vmware before. I think once the IO has been fixed, OS X in vmplayer will be a real option!
I published a post about increasing Mac Virtual Machines Screen resolution. It works well. Now you have option to increase screen resolution. Enjoy. Visit here http://www.sysprobs.com/increase-mac-os-virtual-machine-screen-resolution-virtualbox-vmware-player
When I start the Mac VM, it sits on the logo. My machine doesnt have virtualization technology.
this worked great, at first i was a bit skeptical. But i followed all the steps and it worked nicely. Thanks
yea i get stuck at the apple start up and i don’t have virtualization technology. so what do i need to do?
How do you install the VMware Tools in this thing? When I unzipped the tar ball, cd’ed to the install file and tried to compile it, it said this version of FreeBSD didn’t work with this OS.
@Jay Ly,
You can’t install VMware tools on this. These tools will work only with Mac OS X Virtual machines which we cant set up without editing VMX file.
Better check this post with working Mac with VMware tools,
http://www.sysprobs.com/steps-install-mac-snow-leopard-vmware-player-pre-installed-vmware-image
Thanks a ton for this blog post !!!! after browsing for hours and spending hell a lot of time in installing MAC OS on VMWare (most of which was futile due to hardware requirements) i came across your blog… really it was a Godsend
Great work dude ! keep it up
@Ram, wow that was a great comment, thanks for it.
Hi,
I have followed all the steps. Can you please tell me how long mac logo should be displayed before the OS will start. It is taking so much time. And I am not sure how much time will it take.
Please help me!
Thanks
@Harpreet Singh,
It seems like it got stuck. Within two minutes you must see the Mac desktop.
Did you disable VT on your motherboard BIOS?
Great stuff man! It works on vmware server 2.0.2 as well! Great job!
@Matjaz,
Thanks, good to hear this works on vmware server also.
can you tell me the admin password please
its ‘password’ already mentioned in this post.
Hi Dinesh,
First of all i would like to thankyou for the valid information that you have provided to all.
i have one more query, could you plz let me know how to install vmware tools in MAC OS x 10.5.5
Thanks in Advance
GP
@Guruprasad,
Thanks for your comment.
I have not installed VMware tools ( it not official) on 10.5.5.
But this post shows to install on Snow Leopard 10.6
http://www.sysprobs.com/fresh-snow-leopard-1064-installation-vmware-player-3-intel-amd-pc
Which will give the more screen resolution,sound (different package) and VMware shared folders. Sound also should be installed separately. Again, I didn’t try these all on 10.5.5.
If you can try and let us know.
When i go in full screen mode the whole screen does not get utilized it shows the same size as it shows in windowed mode and in
middle and is covered by black strips i want to use it to full screen…
Can i do that??????
i tried to change resolution but there is just 1 option for that
@ Vishal Joisar,
you need to install VMware tools to get full screen.
GP
This is great… works excellent on my AMD Athlon x2 laptop!!!
@Axel,
Glad to know it works on AMD also.