How to Install Retail OS X 10.6 "Snow" and OS X 10.7 "Lion" under VMware ESXi 5

[alexiskai]

your vmx config file looks OK, except I would expect smc.present = "TRUE" not "FALSE". Also if you use the latest "Unlocker" it will probably need re-running following ESXi 5 patching.

 

MSoK

 

I originally had smc.present set to TRUE, but changed it during troubleshooting. And I think I've re-run the unlocker after we patched. However, I'll go back in and run it again just in case.

[MSoK]

 

 

I originally had smc.present set to TRUE, but changed it during troubleshooting. And I think I've re-run the unlocker after we patched. However, I'll go back in and run it again just in case.

Alex,

OK, if you think you have already run the unlocker, couple of things to try, first see if you get the option to install a new OS X VM as an option, if not the Unlocker has not installed correctly. Secondly use the uninstall.sh script to uninstall the Unlocker, re-boot and then re-install, again followed by a re-boot. Plus all this needs to been done directly on the ESXi host via the client and relevant ssh or console access, not via vCenter.

 

Good luck MSoK.

[elliotnunn]

Elliot,

 

Sorry I was not able to respond to your request over the weekend. I am glad you have managed to resolve your problem, what was your solution?

 

Regards MSoK.

 

Hi MSoK,

 

Alexiskai has it right -- I have not had any luck with my problem. Do the vmx and log files tell you anything? I tried the exact same configuration, with the same ESXi install, on a spare machine. It worked just fine on there. Does this narrow the problem down to my processors? The thing is, the processors in my ESXi host are Intel 5160s, which are also found in the original Mac Pro.

 

Thanks!

Elliot.

[MSoK]

 

 

Hi MSoK,

 

Alexiskai has it right -- I have not had any luck with my problem. Do the vmx and log files tell you anything? I tried the exact same configuration, with the same ESXi install, on a spare machine. It worked just fine on there. Does this narrow the problem down to my processors? The thing is, the processors in my ESXi host are Intel 5160s, which are also found in the original Mac Pro.

 

Thanks!

Elliot.

Elliot,

 

Possibly, but I have checked the spec of your Intel Xeon 5160 and they support VT-x, so unless it is turned off in BIOS, no reason OS X should not run OK. On the spare machine what is the processor spec?

[elliotnunn]

Elliot,

 

Possibly, but I have checked the spec of your Intel Xeon 5160 and they support VT-x, so unless it is turned off in BIOS, no reason OS X should not run OK. On the spare machine what is the processor spec?

 

MSoK,

 

The spare machine's CPU is (I think) an Intel Core 2 Duo E6300. It ran Lion without a problem a few months ago. I can't test it at the moment, but is it possible that I would have any luck if I tweaked the "CPU/MMU Virtualization" setting under Options in the VM settings window?

 

Cheers,

Elliot.

[choxo]

I'm pretty new to VMware but I also manage to get 10.7.2 run on ESXI ... I installed Lion on workstation, modifiy the Ktxext and then convert the machine to the server .

 

This worked pretty fine, the only issue I had was that I had to remove the ethernet adapter and install it again to have ethenet access.

 

I tried to add the ethernet0.virtualdev-"e1000" to the vmx, but it didn't work.

 

now the question is : Is it possible to upgrade to mountain ?

[VMwareMacMan]

I'm pretty new to VMware but I also manage to get 10.7.2 run on ESXI ... I installed Lion on workstation, modifiy the Ktxext and then convert the machine to the server .

 

This worked pretty fine, the only issue I had was that I had to remove the ethernet adapter and install it again to have ethenet access.

 

I tried to add the ethernet0.virtualdev-"e1000" to the vmx, but it didn't work.

 

now the question is : Is it possible to upgrade to mountain ?

 

how did you convert your Workstation version to ESXi?

 

we have succesfully manaeged to get 10.7.x working on VMware Workstation, but still unable to get Booted on ESXi 5.0

[choxo]

 

how did you convert your Workstation version to ESXi?

 

we have succesfully manaeged to get 10.7.x working on VMware Workstation, but still unable to get Booted on ESXi 5.0

 

You have to replace the HDD driver with a previous version... There is a post about this somewhere and also a package to do this .... So you install the package, convert the machine and it will boot on vsphere

 

[Mikelli]

Hi There,

I have OS 10.6.8 running on Workstation 7 and it runs fine. Can I simply download ML from the app store and have the machine update to it, or is it not that simple?

 

Thanks,

[MSoK]

Hi There,

I have OS 10.6.8 running on Workstation 7 and it runs fine. Can I simply download ML from the app store and have the machine update to it, or is it not that simple?

 

Thanks,

Mikelli,

 

Workstation 7 has no support for ML, you would be better upgrading to Workstation 9.0.2 or use the free Player 5.0.2. These both will support your existing SL, but will allow you to install ML. Do not forget the upgrade is in effect a complete re-install so you will need to re-apply the "Unlocker".

[Mikelli]

Thanks MSok, I may wait and do Mavericks and whatever the latest Workstation version is then. I would hate re-installing all the programs if I must do a clean install. I wish we could simply take our VM's  and upgrade the mac OS when we can and upgrade the host (VMware) . . . without starting all over each time.

[MSoK]

Thanks MSok, I may wait and do Mavericks and whatever the latest Workstation version is then. I would hate re-installing all the programs if I must do a clean install. I wish we could simply take our VM's  and upgrade the mac OS when we can and upgrade the host (VMware) . . . without starting all over each time.

Mikelli,

 

You can keep your settings, and all your VM's should be available under Workstation 9.0.2, it is only the "Unlocker" that is lost when you upgrade Workstation, and that just needs to be re-run. Sorry for any confusion, so no need to wait.

[JustinTD]

I am having an interesting issue; I unlocked using the latest on ESXi 5.1; tried to install both a 10.7 and 10.8 InstallESD; it starts installing fine then just appears to hang; disk activity drops and it just sits there, forever ... any thoughts?

 

 

[MSoK]

Justin,

 

We need a bit more information to be able to help, i.e. ESXi Host spec, ESXi build number and any relevant logs, also confirm your InstallESD.dmg is sourced from the Apple AppStore and the latest Unlocker 1.1.1?

 

The only time I have had this problem is when the InstallESD.dmg or the conversion to .iso is corrupt, this however seems unlikely since you have both 10.7 and a 10.8 versions. Also you are accessing the ESXi host directly via the client, and not via vCenter?

[JustinTD]

MSoK ..

 

1. ESXi 5.1 799733

2. Server is a Dell Optiplex 755 (yeah I know LOL don't ask long story); Core2Duo 2.66, 4GB RAM, VTx enabled

3. InstallESD is from App Store; I am registered Apple Developer and the versions I am using came from the App Store once it went GM, so they should be 10.8.0 and 10.7.0 

 

What logs files would you like me to get you? It seems to hang when retriving packages; for ha ha's I started a 10.6 install last night, it has been going for 12 hours but is almost done and the HD is still active so it's slow but it's installing ... in the case of 10.7/8 the HD stops being active and it just sits; when left overnight the install progress bar doesn't move.

[MSoK]

Justin,

 

Looking at the spec of your OptiPlex looks like you have an Intel C2D E6750 processor with VT-x support, so if you are sure VT-x is enabled in BIOS, then I cannot see why the process should just hang, and SL to take more than 12 hours!

 

I have an old HP SFF Desktop with a C2Q Q9400 processor and 8GB RAM running ESXi 5.1 and OS X SL, L and ML running as VM's without issues, install takes maybe an hour max.

 

So I have to assume either you have very little memory or you have a hardware issue, it would be worth upgrading ESXi to 5.1.0 U1 which is build 1065491 and also applying the latest patch (build 1157734), do not forget you will need to re-apply the Unlocker once you have finished applying the patches, and reboot.

 

In terms of the hardware you may need to try an alternative hard drive, and / or see if you can pick up a cheap Q6600 or Q6700 processor, which is supported in your 755 to give it a bit more punch.

 

How long does it take to install say Windows 7 or 8 on your ESXi host?

[JustinTD]

MSoK,

 

Usually 30-45 minutes tops ... I have a small cluster I could patch another machine and try it on there to see if the problem replicates; right now I have tried using install media stored on the local datastore and on the iSCSI SAN backend; is there a method which is 'best practice'?

[MSoK]

Justin,

 

Since you have a cluster, and therefore are running vCenter Server, you need to be aware the "Unlocker" is not supported, and may cause issues, have a look at the last few posts in the topic, link below:

 

http://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/267296-esxi-5-mac-os-x-unlocker/page-26

 

So you may want to try installing on an ESXi host not in your cluster, also all installation and configuration of OS X virtual machines must be done with the vSphere client talking directly to the "Unlocked" ESXi host.

 

In terms of best practice for OS X install on an "Unlocked" ESXi 5.1 host, I would always recommend using the InstallESD.dmg extracted from the downloaded OS X from the App Store, and copy it to an ISO folder located on your Datastore, local if possible but a Datastore located on an iSCSI SAN should also work fine. I have recently written a short How To for Workstation 9 and Player 5, but it is equally valid for ESXi you may want to have a quick read, link below:

 

http://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/290949-how-to-install-os-x-108-mountain-lion-and-os-x-109-mavericks-in-vmware-workstation-9-or-player-5/

[JustinTD]

MSoK,

 

I did read those posts; I was doing the install directly connected to the host not to the cluster; at the present I do not have a system off the cluster; I suppose I could detach one and move the VM's to the other systems if need be

[MSoK]

Justin,

 

Sorry, I was just doing a sanity check to make sure we have not missed something obvious, if you are able I would vMotion any live VM's to another host and try detaching one of your hosts, I would probably re run the "Unlocker" once detached, then see if OS X installs any quicker?

[p-crossbow]

Hi all,

 

Sorry to resurrect this old thread, but I believe the issue that I'm experiencing is relevant to the content of this thread. Correct me if I'm wrong (gently please  ).

 

I've got ESXi 5.5 1623387 running on a Supermicro 6016GT-TF. I've got the unlocker installed (v1,3.0) and have Mavericks installed and working nicely. Now I'm trying to get a clean SL install up and running to run some legacy apps. I've got a retail DVD image for SL and have created a new 64-bit 10.6 VM. I've also set the EAX bits as recommended earlier in this thread. When I EFI boot using boot -v npci=0x2000 I notice that I get a "Still waiting for root device" message that doesn't disappear even after waiting for hours. This was with the default drive setup of SATA for the vCDROM and HDD.

 

A previous poster who ran into a similar issue was able to get things working by using a physical USB CD drive that he passed through to the guest and was then able to install SL. I don't have access to a USB (or otherwise) CD drive, but based on some comments it seemed that perhaps my vCDROM should be attached to a SCSI controller rather than a SATA one. Unfortunately I can't seem to do this (only IDE and SATA are available options even with a SCSI controller added to the VM) and resorted to adding a new (there wasn't one with the stock template for 10.6 x64) SCSI controller (LSI Parallel Logic) and a second hard drive that used a VMDK version of the SL installer DVD - no luck here either though; I get the same "still waiting for root device" message. I'm hunting around to find a USB thumb drive and try to pass that through to the guest and attempt to boot off of it, but I just wanted to put this out here to see if someone has come across this before, and preferably has a solution in hand!

 

Thanks in advance for any help.

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