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..
When i power one the machine it says me that:
Cannot open the disk ‘X:\…\Mac OS X Leopard-000001.vmdk’ or one of the snapshot disks it depends on.
Reason: Failed to lock the file.
Another thing i want to tell is that i haven’t got the “564d4e..” folder in the picture above.
(I followed all the steps)
Do you know what is the problem? I would like this to work.
Thanks a lot.
Problem solved thanks anyways for the post mate
@Ricky,
Glad you finally solved the issue
Admin password is not ‘password’
the password hint is 456.
The password is not password is not 123 and not 456. What is the password please
Password is: 123
@Mike,
Are you talking about 10.5 or 10.6 image?
I,m getting this error when i power on.
boot0: GPT
boot:0 HFS+
boot:0 booting
boot:0 done
boot: error
@John,
First time I’m seeing these errors.
Try with -legacy boot option.
Got it to work but no sound,not full screen,mouse slow.
hi Dinesh ..
i’m installing it now .. but it says me that :
“FreeBSD is not installed on this virtual machine. Insert the installer disc and click Restart VM” and on the black screen I’ve ” Operating System not found”
can you help me pleaaase ?
it’s ok .. i find it !! aahah
thank youuuuuuuuu very much Dinesh .. a really really greeeeeeeeat stuff !! THANKS
@Cristiano,
Glad you fixed the issue and installed successfully.
Do not update this, it will not work. If your computer supports VT, then better install 10.6 and update to latest version.
Installation steps are available at Sysprobs.com
Dinesh .. can we make upgrades of the Mac os ?? because I did it and now it appears : “The CPU has been disabled by the guest operating system. You will need to power off or reset the virtual machine at this point”
??
And what’s VT ?? :$ :S
It’s stuck on the Apple logo. I DO NOT have VT. Can you help me please?
Dinesh .. i cant listen songs on itunes .. do you know why ?
thanks
Might I offer some constructive criticism? Before you write a guide that is targeted to a large audience, you should really consider taking an English class. Again, just some constructive criticism because I honestly couldn’t follow anything you were saying!
can any one plz help me . . .
. .i ve boot up in advance mode. “-v”. . .the last script which is kept repeating is
i’ve Dell inspiron 1564 core i3 330m with 2gb of ram . . .320gb HD. .
i have completed all the above steps including disable my VT. . but still apple boot screen seem to take too long . . didnt boot up. .
“crash using uid:0 gid:0 euid:0 ugid:0
Dec 2 10:40:31 localhost reportcrash[104] saved crashreport to \Liberary\logs\crashreporter\configd_2010-12-02_104247_localhost”
what does this crash means?. . .also find me the way to rectify it. . .
also I am running Win7 Pro. . and i use Vmware Workstation 7
plz plz plz help me . . .
I would be very thankful to you guys. . .
can any one plz help me . . .
. .i ve boot up in advance mode. “-v”. . .the last script which is kept repeating is
i’ve Dell inspiron 1564 core i3 330m with 2gb of ram . . .320gb HD. .
i have completed all the above steps including disable my VT. . but still apple boot screen seem to take too long . . didnt boot up. .
“crash using uid:0 gid:0 euid:0 ugid:0
Dec 2 10:40:31 localhost reportcrash[104] saved crashreport to \Liberary\logs\crashreporter\configd_2010-12-02_104247_localhost”
what does this crash means?. . .also find me the way to rectify it. . .
also I am running Win7 Pro. . and i use Vmware Workstation 7
plz plz help me . . .
I would be very thankful to you guys. . .
@Maaz: download virtualbox
I have the same problem. That annoying ‘crash using uid :0 gid:0 euid:0 ugid:0′ error.
I used Vmware Workstation and Virtualbox. the error happened on both. Any suggestions?
In my VM does not work Internet! I don’t know why… help me please.
I somehow manage to boot up the operating system . . but it lags so much . . .also it didn’t give me any kind of sound for any applications . . .
mine is Dell Inspiron Core i3 330m, 2gb ram, Intel graphic media accelerator HD, sound card is of Realtek High definition audio . . .
plz tell me if my sound card is supported . . and also tell me the simplest procedure to install the VMware tools on Mac. .
Thanks.
What is the admin password?
The password “password” don’t work for me. and what’s the admin name?
I can’t update the Mac because I can’t log in…. HELP!!!
I can not access my Bios to disable virtualization (Acer Aspire 4820).
Using InsydeH2O Bios
Any idea?
Someimes when I power on it displays welcome screen for a very long time then comes up with a blank blue screen afer that.
Other times i get message saying: Cannot open file “C:\ProgramData\VMware\dndlogs\dndlog.conf”: The system cannot find the path specified.
Cannot connect virtual device ide1:0 because no corresponding device is available on the host.Do you want to try to connect this virtual device every time you power on the virtual machine?
Other times it sits on welcome screen for a long time and eventualy comes up with a message about CPU being desabled and virtual machine needing a restart.
Please help
also i looked in bios and theres no mention of any virtualisation……??
After searching for a method of deploying MAC OS X to a VM, without much success (most of the articles seem to be tough to follow or some of the steps didn’t quite work out), I almost gave up but this article hit the spot. I installed on HP DC7600 hardware, running VISTA business and VMware Workstation 7.0 and it all worked (just had to disable Virtualization Technology in BIOS on HP box). A really well written and easy to follow document – great work
Freaking FINALLY! Thanks for being the only how-to on this that works. I’m on Ubuntu so I had to tweak your instructions a bit but it works perfect!
Happy to be able to use iTunes on its native platform now.
Thanks!
How do you get it to connect to network???
How do you get it to connect to network???
-> pls use NAT instead of Bridged in VMware Network Adapter setting
I’ve tried this image and it’s work fine at the 1st time running, thanks so much Dinesh!
(I’m from Vietnam)
I am running I3 4gb ram on an HP laptop running Windows 7 64bit using VMware 7.1.3.
I have followed the instructions, I cant get to an apple screen. It is trying to boot from the network. (PXE-E53: No boot filename received) (PXE-M0F: Exiting intel PXE ROM. Operating system not found.
I checked my bios boot form network is disabled. Any input or help would be appreciated. Also this could be the issue. When I unrar the files its 8.27gb I’m not getting any of the folders just the files, i find this strange. I am at a loss I have no idea what to try next.
What an epic put up – really helpful! A whole whole lot appreciated!
Hi
I have the same hardware as Ron and I get the apple screen and then vmware just restarts all the time, frustrating and i really need os x for studying.
Can anyone help me please?
regards
adrian
adrian,
Is your physical computer supports Hardware Virtualization Technology (VT) in BIOS?
I think something to do with VT. VT should be disabled.
Tell me the processor details.
Hi, thanks for the fast reply.
Should VT be disabled? I thought it should be enabled cause it is enabled now.
then this will be slow reply
VT should be disabled. In fact, this method is useful for old computers which do not support VT.
If your computer supports VT, then install the latest Snow Leopard 10.6. Several methods are available here at Sysprobs.
Hi, I have an issue. I chose the correct .vmx file when building out a new vm but i recieve a “OS not found, no boot filename received” error message on the start up screen. Please assist as I can’t even get to the start screen for mac os. I am running a core i7 3gb 64 bit OS.
neil,
Did you mount the darwin ISO file to CD ROM of virtual machine?
I’m curious if there is a way to get the image to display in my native resolution vs that of 1024 x 768. I’ve tried full screen at power up and manually changing the “display” settings with no luck. Otherwise everything worked great.
Have you tried to install the VGA driver mentioned in below post?
http://www.sysprobs.com/increase-screen-resolution-wide-screen-support-mac-os-virtual-machine-vmware-player-workstation
superb instructions and a guide on how to install mac…
Worked PERFECT as the steps were given..
Thanx Dinesh for uploading such useful informations.
Samir….
Glad your find this information useful Samir.
Has anyone worked out how to get a network connection going?
Are you able to get IP and ping to host network adapter?
Any 1 no if this work on a amd pc or is it just intel be grateful for reply dudes thanks in advance
This will work with AMD too.
If you have latest AMD, then try this new method here,
http://www.sysprobs.com/mac-snow-leopard-amd-pc-vmware-image
Hi Dinesh,
I get the apple screen even i have disabled VT. Can you help me to solve the issue.
Hi Dinesh, I’m trying to use VMware Convertor (V 4.0.1) to transfer the VM onto an ESX box but I get the error “Unable to query the live source machine” . I’ve enabled SSH sharing and tried the “MAc Admin” credentials but I think it’s look for the root credentials which I don’t know (tried root and password)
Hi John,
I am running the stand alone vmware converter (V 4.0.1) build 161434 and it generating the image on my esxi 4.0 box as I am writing this tweet. I will update with more info after it completes.
Did you have to use a root account to get the convertor to connect ?
John,
Are you trying to export this Mac VM to ESX Box? Why don’t you just export the VMDK to ESX and create a virtual machine.
Mac admin is having root access in this case.
Check the log files in converter.
I logged in as root to the ESXi Server. I tried to run the image after it was converted but it did not get past the initial apple screen(it just hung).
Hi I checked my BIOS and I don’t have Hardware Virtualization, but when I try booting the Mac image using VMware Player 3 it keeps hanging on the apple logo screen with the loading circle. But if I don’t have it, I don’t have to/can’t disable it! Or is this a wrong thought?
Please help me!
I have installed mac os x Leopard using the method defined in this article but i am unable to install VMWare tools for vmware workstation as the vmware tools are for freebsd OS and when i mount vmware tools i can’t see any way to run them. Can you please tell me how to install vmware tools for the mac os x installed using your article?
Also, i have given about 3.5 GB of my memory to the virtual machine but it still runs slows. I have tried disabling few effects as seen in mac os x guides like remove dock magnification adn few other things but still it is very slow can you tell me how to speed up mac os x on vmware workstation?
same prblem as jawad says please hlp::::::::::
Fed up with the slow speed i was getting on vmware workstation i decided to get new 2011 macbook pro instead as needed mac for ios development and virtual machone was not an option anymore. The vmware instatllation was working but it took me about 15-20 minutes to do something which would normally take 5 minutes on vmware as speed was very slow for virtual machine and the response time was terrible. Even working with intellisense was difficult as it took about 5-10 seconds to appear.
Hi,
On Win 7 using vm workstation facing the issue of hanging at the beginning. I tried on xp with vm player but same issue. My processor doesn’t have hw virtualization feature.
Any thoughts?
Hi Dinesh,
You’ve wrote very nice tutorial, I downloaded the Mac Leopard from your given link. And did the task as you have explained in the tutorial, But it stuck on the apple logo.
I’ve P5KPL-CM mainboard with E6300 Intel Dualcore Processor.
I can’t find the option to disable VT in my BIOS. and when I checked that my mainboard support VT or not with the help of an utility named “securable” it shows VT Supported and “Locked On”,
Is there any way to run Mac on my system, because I can’t turn it off to run it?
Thank you!
I’m having trouble. When I try to extract the files, I’m missing all of the folders, and Mac OS X Leopard.vmdk is corrupted and won’t extract. I’m sure this would work fine if I could just get that file. Please help, thank you!
Never mind. Downloading it again oddly solved the problem.
This works perfectly first time
You are star and a gentleman sir
Really grateful for this work Mr Denish … i needed this to work on Xcode for some iphone apps for my university … i’ve got VGA patch for the display and the audio 2 & everything is allright …
I just needed a way to install the VMware Tools to get a better performance because it’s kinda low comparin to my windows 7 … but any way ..if ever there’s no way to install the tools as a pkg …can any one work on a tutorial on how to work on the vmware tools manually …I reall need this so bad … i have to finish my iphone app in about 10 days & havin the mac os kinda slow is annoyin …
Waiting for Your help …experienced people
ben.h.bassem@gmail.com
Works flawlessly!!!
Thank you! I went through literally dozens of images and help sites and none worked without virtualization!
This was a huge help!
Regarding the performance, do you think it runs slow because you can’t install the pkg tools for vmware or is it because there isn’t enough ram? (i have 2 gb total/ 1 gb is use for osx)
Thanks
Help!
I get error:”operating system not found”
Mount the darwin ISO file to CD/DVD ROM then boot the virtual machine.
I load the Mac OS X fine through VMware. It goes through the whole installation process fine but when the installation finishes it restarts automatically and then runs the boot process again, command line where I have to type -v to boot. How can I stop it doing this? and tell it to run the OS? Thanks.
First thanks for the mac I have installed it and it works.
i have couple of question
1. the Mac is some what slow, so i wonder why can’t i change the processores from 1 to 4 core in VMware ? I have 4 core.
2. What about the reslution, any advice how to fix it ?
3. What about the sound, any solution there?
This is for display resolution,
http://www.sysprobs.com/increase-screen-resolution-wide-screen-support-mac-os-virtual-machine-vmware-player-workstation
Have you tried two cores?
Sound works in Snow leopard 10.6, but I have not tried on 10.5 leopard.
If you have latest processor with VT support, why don’t you try the latest Mac?
Hey.
It doesn’t work on mine.
Specs:
Intel Celeron 1.5ghz ( Doesn’t support VT)
Intel 82855 ( GPU)
Intel Pro/set Wireless 2200bg.
Conexant Audio
_______________
It doesn’t work.
I tried enabling the paravirtualization thing.It stucks on Apple logo.
Also when it is disabled it also stucks at apple logo.
What is the solution?
Your processor is too slow. That is why it does not work
works perfect.
i have 8gb ddr3 memory,
amd phenom X4 945 3ghz
and an wireless card and it even has internet.
just load the vmx file into workstation and it worked for me!
thanks you very much!