How to Install OS X 10.x (Snow Leopard to El Capitan) in VMware Workstation 10/11, Workstation Pro/Player 12, Player 6/7, ESXi 5/6

[cb4]

cb4 - to do the upgrade, did you simply download the upgrade from the App Store in the VM, and run it? 

 

Yes with one exception. I copied the latest darwin.iso from the link in this forum to my VMWare directory. Maybe that's the problem?

 

I'm running VMware 11.1.2, Unlocker 2.0.6. It was a clean install of 10.10 and Xcode. Hardware version is set to 11.

[MR_WHITE]

Thanks for this guide. I needed a full time osx machine for testing and only had my macbook pro and a windows server. I used vmware fusion on my mac to create the vm and moved it over to the windows machine. I then followed this thread to fix the keyboard issue, and through a bunch of restarts and messing with adapter settings got NAT networking working. Now I can run my vm on that server and save a bunch of battery as well as never having to shut it down since that server never reboots.

[ElCoyote_]

Hi everyone,

I am not sure you should be using the latest 8.0.1 darwin.iso (unless you have VMW 12, maybe).

 

On VMW 11.1.2, applying the latest darwin iso made the OSX 10.11.0 crash VMW, As a result, I stayed with the bundled iso from my install.

 

For the record, both of my 10.10.5 and 10.11.0 VM were created from a clone of my 10.9.5 VM over last week-end.

- The 10.10.5 was created by booting an ISO of 10.10.5 (I couldn't use the app store to create a 10.10 VM since El-Capitan had already been released).

- The 10.11.0 VM was created by updating from the App Store straight from 10.9.5.

 

I'm running VMW 11.1.2 on Linux (RHEL) with the latyest 2.0.6 unlocked. This allows for testing stuff on snapshot'able VM's instead of busting my only physical OSX box (a MBP).

 

Regards,

[tlac]

This can be useful here:

Howto create a bootable El Capitan ISO for VMware on OSX

 

I tried and it worked.

[MSoK]

I have now been able to do a fresh install of El Capitan on Workstation 12, using Unlocker 207 and an El Capitan DMG created using a script from the links supplied by tlac. As a result I have updated the first three posts in this thread to reflect the changes associated with installing El Capitan, i.e. script to create an installable DMG or ISO and the changes in Disk Utility to create an OS X volume. Finally I was able to install the VMware tools using the menu in Workstation 12, rather than mounting the ISO as in previous versions of Workstation.

 

Please note the script is not the finished article so any updates or recommendations are welcome, as well as any additional steps or problems encountered when doing a fresh install of El Capitan.

[swmcl_mac]

Hi,

 

First post...

 

I've purchased Snow Leopard and it has been delivered 2 days ago (Oct 12th 2015).  I've downloaded the unlocker v1.3.  I have previously purchased VMWare workstaion 10.  I currently use Linux Mint 17.2.  The machine is an 8 core i7 64bit with 16G RAM or so iirc.  I have numerous VM's of Win7, Ubuntu 14.04, XP etc.  I've been using Linux for 15 years.

 

When I extract the unlocker zip I have ... install.sh, uninstall.sh, Unlocker.Linux32 and Unlocker.Linux64

 

Can I ask for really anal instuctions please ?

 

Where do I place these files and which ones are run and in what order ?

 

Sorry, but being very specific is important for me.  Along with very specific instructions is also any notes as to the changes to file or directory permissions that would be helpful.

 

I would obviously be running all files as sudo once I know where they go ...

 

Its been perhaps 30 years since I used a Mac ... and all I want to do is write a simple app !  So I'm trying to build a VM for the purposes.  I was advised by Apple tech to buy the disk and I believe I will be 'upgrading' the OS one step at a time until I get to El Capitan ... ?  Perhaps I can write the app at the Snow Leopard stage ...  I have no physical Apple computers but have an iphone 4s and an ipad2 air.

 

Sorry to be a stickler !

 

Cheers,

 

Steve

[LuXs]

How did you manage to buy snow leopard is my first question since its so old?
And why would you not just start with el capitan if this was your goal instead of upgrading all the way from snow leopard.

 

i would just get vmware workstation 12 start from there instead of using old versions of the script/software and just get the latest version of everything and go from there.
 

[MSoK]

How did you manage to buy snow leopard is my first question since its so old?

And why would you not just start with el capitan if this was your goal instead of upgrading all the way from snow leopard.

 

i would just get vmware workstation 12 start from there instead of using old versions of the script/software and just get the latest version of everything and go from there.

 

Firstly you can still buy Snow Leopard from the Apple Store, it is £14.99 in the UK, secondly if you do not have a real Mac or an OS X virtual machine you cannot download the El Capitan app. I would agree with Workstation 11 or 12 rather 10, but is some respects for Snow Leopard Workstation 10 is a simpler proposition using unlocker 1.3.x.

Hi,

When I extract the unlocker zip I have ... install.sh, uninstall.sh, Unlocker.Linux32 and Unlocker.Linux64

Can I ask for really anal instuctions please ?

Where do I place these files and which ones are run and in what order ?

I would obviously be running all files as sudo once I know where they go ...

Cheers,

Steve

Steve,

 

The instructions are in the unlocker readme.txt file see below:

 

3. Linux

---------

On Linux you will need to be either root or use sudo to run the scripts. 

 

You may need to ensure the contents of the linux folder have execute permissions

by running chmod +x against the 4 files.

 

install.sh   - patches VMware and copies darwin.iso tools image to VMware

uninstall.sh - restores VMware and removes darwin.iso tools image from VMware

 

It does not matter where you put the files as the script knows where the VMware Workstation file to be patched are located.

 

So run the chmod +x *.* in the folder where you unzipped the four unlocker files and from that location run ./install.sh to install and ./uninstall.sh to uninstall the unlocker, a reboot is required for the unlocker to take affect.

[swmcl_mac]

Thanks MSoK,

 

I didn't know whether the scripts were intelligent enough to be run from the Downloads folder where they are now located and the instructions didn't say specifically ... so thank you.

 

The reason for the Snow Leopard was that it is the only available physical disk.  

 

Q.  I'm thinking I would run the unlocker, do my VM creation and leave it running no ?  Why do I need to uninstall the unlocker ?  Can I not use VMWorkstation for other VM creation with the unlocker in place ?

 

Cheers,

[LuXs]

Yes you can leave the unlocker running/installed you dont need to uninstall it.
Yes you can use the vm workstation to create other vm's that works fine.

I have it running/installed and create new os x version from 10.9 to 10.11 all the time

 

thanks to colt2, tlac and MSoK for the new el capitan install script it worked perfect  
But wont it stop when the 10.11.1 update comes out because the change in size probably?
The script makes it 7316mb but the 10.11.1 could become larger and then it will not work correctly or am i wrong?

[MSoK]

Yes you can leave the unlocker running/installed you dont need to uninstall it.

Yes you can use the vm workstation to create other vm's that works fine.

 

I have it running/installed and create new os x version from 10.9 to 10.11 all the time

 

thanks to colt2, tlac and MSoK for the new el capitan install script it worked perfect  

But wont it stop when the 10.11.1 update comes out because the change in size probably?

The script makes it 7316mb but the 10.11.1 could become larger and then it will not work correctly or am i wrong?

At 7316mb the disk is already oversized, but will look to create a script similar to the Mavericks and Yosemite versions which size based on the required size rather than predetermining the size.

Thanks MSoK,

 

I didn't know whether the scripts were intelligent enough to be run from the Downloads folder where they are now located and the instructions didn't say specifically ... so thank you.

 

The reason for the Snow Leopard was that it is the only available physical disk.  

 

Q.  I'm thinking I would run the unlocker, do my VM creation and leave it running no ?  Why do I need to uninstall the unlocker ?  Can I not use VMWorkstation for other VM creation with the unlocker in place ?

 

Cheers,

You need the unlocker installed to continue to run OS X in Workstation, but this has no impact on running other OS's in Workstation.

[swmcl_mac]

Ummm ...

 

I think my next step is to convert a DMG file to an ISO file right ?

 

So where is the DMG file ?  I did a search on the disk with a no result.

 

I have the Snow Leopard 10.6.3 disk and there is a bunch of pdf's and a setup.exe ...

 

Methinks things might have changed ...

[MSoK]

Ummm ...

 

I think my next step is to convert a DMG file to an ISO file right ?

 

So where is the DMG file ?  I did a search on the disk with a no result.

 

I have the Snow Leopard 10.6.3 disk and there is a bunch of pdf's and a setup.exe ...

 

Methinks things might have changed ...

The DMG file is associated with the App Store download to a Mac or virtual machine running OS X, not the original Snow Leopard DVD, you need to use a DVD to ISO burner like imgburn for Windows, not sure of a Linux equivalent application, alternatively just mount the DVD as your source in VMware Workstation.

 

Please be aware you are going to need to add a CPUID mask to allow the Snow Leopard (10.6.3) to install on your hardware, all instructions are in the first three posts of this thread.

[grektokomus]

Thanks to all who have contributed to this thread and especially MSoK!

 

I have built a new El Capitan vm on Workstation 12.0.  

 

Here are the steps that got me to the finish line:

1.       Install unlocker 2.0.7

2.       Download El Capitan from App Store to default location (/Applications/Install OS X El Capitan.app).

3.       Download CECI.tool.txt (http://www.insanelymac.com/forum/index.php?app=core&module=attach&section=attach&attach_id=171206)

4.       Move the CECI file to the desktop and use terminal to rename to ‘CECI.tool’.

1. Run the following command to make the script executable: chmod +x CECI.tool
2. From terminal at Desktop directory, execute: ./CECI.tool

7.       The resulting file is a mountable installer.

8.       Use VMWare workstation to build a new VM using:

a.        ElCapitan.dmg,

b.      4 processors x 2 cores,

c.       16 GB RAM,

d.      140 GB HD (SATA) stored as a single file,

e.       Bridged networking,

9.       Monitor set to scaling.

10.     Edit the configuration file (.vmx) and add the following line: smc.version = "0"

11.   Start the VM, Select the language, Open the disk Utility

12.   Select the VMware Virtual SATA Harddrive and click Erase

13.   Give a meaningful name, select “OS X Extended (Journaled)” and “GUID Partition Map” and click the blue Erase button and quit.

14.   Accept Apple agreement. Select the disk you just configured and install.

15.   Using a Fusion download (I used 7.0, but perhaps a future version of Fusion will include better tools so that step 21 can be skipped), acquire the latest Darwin.iso and make available on host system for VMware tools installation.

16.   From inside the machine, eject the OS install media.

17.   From VMware, mount the Darwin.iso from #15.

18.   Restart in safe mode (command + r key)

19.   Open terminal and execute csrutil disable

20.   Install VMware Tools

21.   From http://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/309023-el-capitan-resolution-1024-768-vmware-workstation-12/page-1?do=findComment&comment=2182722, apply vmware-resolutionSet

22.   Enable csrutil 

 

Enjoy!

[LuXs]

Vmware released workstation 12.0.1 today/yesterday and you might experience that OS X wont boot so what you need to do is to re-run Unlock 2.0.7 and it should now work to boot the os x vm again
My El Capitan, yosemite and mavericks wouldnt finish booting after the update but after running the unlocker tool again it would start up again.
There is also a new darwin tool 8.0.2

[MSoK]

As LuXs has stated Workstation 12.0.1 released as well as Fusion 8.0.2, all working fine using unlocker 207, the darwin.iso version 8.0.2 is now avialable on the VMware CDS Repository, and in the InsanelyMac Download section, see link below:

 

http://www.insanelymac.com/forum/files/file/31-vmware-tools-for-os-x-darwiniso/

Edited October 31, 2015 by MSoK

[LuXs]

8.0.2 is here http://softwareupdate.vmware.com/cds/vmw-desktop/fusion/

[MSoK]

8.0.2 is here http://softwareupdate.vmware.com/cds/vmw-desktop/fusion/

Thanks for the update, 8.0.2 now available on InsanelyMac download section, see link in my last post.

Thanks to all who have contributed to this thread and especially MSoK!

 

I have built a new El Capitan vm on Workstation 12.0.  

 

Here are the steps that got me to the finish line:

1.       Install unlocker 2.0.7

2.       Download El Capitan from App Store to default location (/Applications/Install OS X El Capitan.app).

3.       Download CECI.tool.txt (http://www.insanelymac.com/forum/index.php?app=core&module=attach&section=attach&attach_id=171206)

4.       Move the CECI file to the desktop and use terminal to rename to ‘CECI.tool’.

1. Run the following command to make the script executable: chmod +x CECI.tool
2. From terminal at Desktop directory, execute: ./CECI.tool

7.       The resulting file is a mountable installer.

8.       Use VMWare workstation to build a new VM using:

a.        ElCapitan.dmg,

b.      4 processors x 2 cores,

c.       16 GB RAM,

d.      140 GB HD (SATA) stored as a single file,

e.       Bridged networking,

9.       Monitor set to scaling.

10.     Edit the configuration file (.vmx) and add the following line: smc.version = "0"

11.   Start the VM, Select the language, Open the disk Utility

12.   Select the VMware Virtual SATA Harddrive and click Erase

13.   Give a meaningful name, select “OS X Extended (Journaled)” and “GUID Partition Map” and click the blue Erase button and quit.

14.   Accept Apple agreement. Select the disk you just configured and install.

15.   Using a Fusion download (I used 7.0, but perhaps a future version of Fusion will include better tools so that step 21 can be skipped), acquire the latest Darwin.iso and make available on host system for VMware tools installation.

16.   From inside the machine, eject the OS install media.

17.   From VMware, mount the Darwin.iso from #15.

18.   Restart in safe mode (command + r key)

19.   Open terminal and execute csrutil disable

20.   Install VMware Tools

21.   From http://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/309023-el-capitan-resolution-1024-768-vmware-workstation-12/page-1?do=findComment&comment=2182722, apply vmware-resolutionSet

22.   Enable csrutil 

 

Enjoy!

Thanks for the summary, all this is detailed in the first couple of posts in this topic. However, Workstation 12 now supports installing the VMware Tools from the menu, confirmed by Donk, so no need to bother with installing or getting Fusion. Version 8 of the VMware Tools is included in Unlocker 2.0.7, but if you want the latest 8.0.2 download them from the VMware CDS Repository, or from the InsanelyMac Download section, see link below, and copy / replace the darwin.iso and darwin.iso.sig in to your Workstation directory and re-install from the menu.

 

http://www.insanelymac.com/forum/files/file/31-vmware-tools-for-os-x-darwiniso/

[shela]

Colt2's method is very useful.

I create OS X Install ISO Creater script for OSX 10.7 - 10.11.

 

How to use:

  <<Interactive Mode>>

    create_osx_iso [-o /path/to/output/directory]

 

  <<Batch Mode>>

    create_osx_iso [-o /path/to/output/directory] /path/to/InstallESD.dmg

 

 

Interactive mode is using Install app from App Store.

Batch mode is using user selected InstallESD.dmg.

[AstroZombie138]

Are the instructions different when creating the VM in Fusion 8?  Here is what works:

 

- Creating the .dmg using ceci.sh

- Creating the VM on a Macbook Pro, booting successfully, installing VMWare tools, editing .vmx to add smc.version = "0"

- Copying that VM to a Hackintosh, successfully booting to test

 

Note that I have set the compatibility hardware version to 11 so that it is compatible with ESXi 6.0 

 

However when I copy that VM to ESXI I get the boot failure messages and it brings me to the blue boot screen.

 

I have installed unlocker 2.07.  I believe it is working because:

- I see local.sh started on the boot screen

- I can see the /unlocker directory is created

- /bin/vmx is running and it is linked to /unlocker/vmx (from ps command)

 

Here are the last few lines from the vmware.log file:

 

 

2015-11-07T01:16:35.482Z| vcpu-1| I120: CPU reset: soft (mode 2)

2015-11-07T01:16:35.482Z| vcpu-2| I120: CPU reset: soft (mode 2)

2015-11-07T01:16:35.482Z| vcpu-3| I120: CPU reset: soft (mode 2)

2015-11-07T01:16:35.483Z| vcpu-4| I120: CPU reset: soft (mode 2)

2015-11-07T01:16:35.483Z| vcpu-5| I120: CPU reset: soft (mode 2)

2015-11-07T01:16:35.483Z| vcpu-6| I120: CPU reset: soft (mode 2)

2015-11-07T01:16:35.484Z| vcpu-7| I120: CPU reset: soft (mode 2)

2015-11-07T01:16:55.322Z| vcpu-0| I120: Tools: Tools heartbeat timeout.

2015-11-07T01:17:33.783Z| vmx| I120: GuestRpcSendTimedOut: message to toolbox-dnd timed out.

2015-11-07T01:17:35.376Z| vcpu-0| I120: Guest: EFI Shell inactive in default boot sequence.

2015-11-07T01:17:35.376Z| vcpu-0| I120: Msg_Post: Warning

2015-11-07T01:17:35.376Z| vcpu-0| I120: [msg.Backdoor.OsNotFound] No operating system was found. If you have an operating system installation disc, you can insert the disc into the system's CD-ROM drive and restart the virtual machine.

2015-11-07T01:17:35.376Z| vcpu-0| I120: ----------------------------------------

2015-11-07T01:17:35.377Z| vcpu-0| I120: Vigor_MessageRevoke: message 'msg.Backdoor.OsNotFound' (seq 99923) is revoked

2015-11-07T01:17:56.322Z| vcpu-0| I120: Tools: Tools heartbeat timeout.

[MSoK]

Are the instructions different when creating the VM in Fusion 8?  Here is what works:

 

- Creating the .dmg using ceci.sh

- Creating the VM on a Macbook Pro, booting successfully, installing VMWare tools, editing .vmx to add smc.version = "0"

- Copying that VM to a Hackintosh, successfully booting to test

 

Note that I have set the compatibility hardware version to 11 so that it is compatible with ESXi 6.0 

 

However when I copy that VM to ESXI I get the boot failure messages and it brings me to the blue boot screen.

 

I have installed unlocker 2.07.  I believe it is working because:

- I see local.sh started on the boot screen

- I can see the /unlocker directory is created

- /bin/vmx is running and it is linked to /unlocker/vmx (from ps command)

 

Here are the last few lines from the vmware.log file:

If you are running Fusion on a real MAC or on a good hackintosh, you should not need the unlocker as Fusion natively supports OS X as a guest virtual machine, in older versions of Fusion the Unlocker 1.3.x also included the patch to allow Snow Leopard Workstation rather than Server to be supported, but since Lion the virtualisation of the Workstation version has been fully supported by Apple and therefore by VMware, and is no longer included in Unlocker 2.0.x

[subbz2k]

i have created the El Capitan Image with the CECI.tool. I moved it to my PC but i cannot use it in VMware Workstation 12. It shows the VMware logo as soon as i start the VM. I have used the latest Unlocker on the VMware Workstation.

I also tried converting it to ISO. Same effect: VMware Workstation 12 does not boot from it, it simply doesnt find anything to boot. And if i try to look into the image in UltraISO for Example it always tells me: Unknown Format.

 

So how ... can i REALLY create a bootable image for use in VMware Workstation 12 from an El Capitan Installation on my MacBook? Please help me with that, im totally stuck !!!!

[LuXs]

what error messages do you get in vmware workstation?
did you rememeber to add smc.version = "0" to the vmx file?

[MSoK]

i have created the El Capitan Image with the CECI.tool. I moved it to my PC but i cannot use it in VMware Workstation 12. It shows the VMware logo as soon as i start the VM. I have used the latest Unlocker on the VMware Workstation.

I also tried converting it to ISO. Same effect: VMware Workstation 12 does not boot from it, it simply doesnt find anything to boot. And if i try to look into the image in UltraISO for Example it always tells me: Unknown Format.

 

So how ... can i REALLY create a bootable image for use in VMware Workstation 12 from an El Capitan Installation on my MacBook? Please help me with that, im totally stuck !!!!

The creation of the dmg file using the CECI.tool has been fully tested to work with Workstation 12, so unless you have not run the unlocker 2.0.7, added smc.version = "0" as stated by LuXs, or are running on an AMD machine all should work seamlessly?

[subbz2k]

Hey guys,

 

thanks for the response.

 

Yep, i added smc.version = "0" to the VMX File of the VM. The VM is on Version 10 as well. I also dont got error messages; VMware seemed to ignore the Image; it didnt boot from it. The VM started, i got a blank screen and after some seconds i saw the VMware Logo with the typical output of "i dont have something to boot from" which came from the "Bios" of the VM.

 

However, today i started my computer again and now it seems to work ^^ It boots the image and right now im at the "config installation screen" Strange. I must add that i installed my new Workstation fresh yesterday and havent done any restart. Could that be the reason?