Run Vanilla OS X El Capitan, Sierra, High Sierra or Mojave in VirtualBox 5.x.x on a Windows Host

fusion71au · December 1, 2015

Run Vanilla OS X El Capitan, Sierra, High Sierra or Mojave in VirtualBox 5.x.x on a Windows Host

Following on from my previous guide on how to create a VMware virtual machine running Vanilla OS X El Capitan in Windows, I’ve decided to write a similar guide for creating a VirtualBox El Capitan VM.

The virtual machine should be useful for testing El Capitan and also for creating installers for use on a real machine/hackintosh.

There are other tutorials and videos on the net about running OS X on Windows machines using pre-made VMDK disk images but you can never guarantee what else is in there….

I’ve gathered info for this guide from several threads in the Multibooting and Virtualisation section of this forum and also the wider internet eg

@colt2 HOW TO: Create a bootable El Capitan ISO for VMware

@dsmccombs comment on faking Ivybridge Processor

@E:V:A http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=55572430&postcount=6

@Tech Reviews video tutorial https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t7X07U63lwg.

VirtualBox Forum: Status of OSX on OSX

Requirements

Intel PC with four or more CPU cores running Windows 7 X64 or later OS (2 or more cores needed for OS X)
4GB or more RAM (2GB or more will be needed for OS X)
Hard Disk with at least 40GB free for Virtual Machine
Oracle VM VirtualBox v 5.0.34
Install OS X El Capitan app and Mac or Hack to prepare installation iso <-- Now, no longer necessary to have previous access to a Mac or Hack by building the Installer.app from scratch - see post#75
16GB or larger exFAT formatted USB stick to transfer El Capitan iso from Mac/Hack to Host PC

Prepare Installation ISO on your Mac or Hack

1. On your Mac or Hack, download "Install OS X El Capitan.app" from the App Store into your Applications folder.

2. Download and unzip the CECI.tool (attached to this post) into your ~/Downloads folder. The commands in this executable script are shown below for informational purposes. Note: you will need approx 16GB of free space on your hard disk for the script to complete.

#!/bin/bash

# Mount the Installer image
hdiutil attach /Applications/Install\ OS\ X\ El\ Capitan.app/Contents/SharedSupport/InstallESD.dmg -noverify -nobrowse -mountpoint /Volumes/install_app

# Create El Capitan sparseimage of 7316mb with a Single Partition - Apple Partition Map
hdiutil create -o /tmp/ElCapitan -size 7316m -layout SPUD -fs HFS+J -type SPARSE

# Mount the El Capitan sparseimage
hdiutil attach /tmp/ElCapitan.sparseimage -noverify -nobrowse -mountpoint /Volumes/install_build

# Restore the Base System into the El Capitan Blank sparseimage
asr restore -source /Volumes/install_app/BaseSystem.dmg -target /Volumes/install_build -noprompt -noverify -erase

# Remove Packages link and replace with actual files
rm /Volumes/OS\ X\ Base\ System/System/Installation/Packages
cp -rp /Volumes/install_app/Packages /Volumes/OS\ X\ Base\ System/System/Installation/

# Copy El Capitan installer dependencies
cp -rp /Volumes/install_app/BaseSystem.chunklist /Volumes/OS\ X\ Base\ System/BaseSystem.chunklist
cp -rp /Volumes/install_app/BaseSystem.dmg /Volumes/OS\ X\ Base\ System/BaseSystem.dmg

# Unmount the installer image
hdiutil detach /Volumes/install_app

# Unmount the Base System image
hdiutil detach /Volumes/OS\ X\ Base\ System/

# Optimise Sparseimage Size
hdiutil compact /tmp/ElCapitan.sparseimage
hdiutil resize -size min /tmp/ElCapitan.sparseimage

# Convert the ElCapitan spareseimage to ISO/CD master
hdiutil convert /tmp/ElCapitan.sparseimage -format UDTO -o /tmp/ElCapitan.iso

# Rename the ElCapitan ISO image and move it to the desktop
mv /tmp/ElCapitan.iso.cdr ~/Desktop/'EC 10.11.0.iso'

# Delete ElCapitan.sparseimage file
rm -f /tmp/ElCapitan.sparseimage

3. Open OS X terminal, then run the following commands to execute the script:

cd downloads
chmod +x CECI.tool
./CECI.tool

4. At the end of the process, you will have an El Capitan iso on your desktop - copy this onto an exFAT formatted USB for use on the PC Host later.

Create an El Capitan Virtual Machine in VirtualBox

1. Open the VirtualBox program and click the "New" button to create a new VM.

2. Select Mac OS X and Mac OS X 10.11 El Capitan (64 -bit) for Operating System type and version. I named my Virtual Machine "El_Capitan", then clicked next...

3. Leave the Memory size at the recommended 2048 MB, then click next.

4. Choose to "Create a virtual hard disk now", then click the create button.

5. For the hard disk file type, the default is VDI (VirtualBox Disk Image) but I have selected VMDK for inter-operability with VMWare. Click next...

6. For Storage on physical hard disk, I have chosen the default Dynamically allocated (grows larger to a set limit as you need more disk space).

7. On the File location and size screen, you can set the location of the new virtual hard disk and its size - I recommend changing disk size to 40GB or larger. When you click the create button, you will now see your new VM in the VirtualBox main GUI.

8. Click the settings button on the Main Menu to tweak a few settings....

a. On the System/Motherboard tab in Boot Order, you can uncheck the Floppy Drive (who has these now?)

b. On the System/Processor tab, you can increase the allocated CPU cores to 2

c. On the Display tab, you can increase the allocated Video Memory to 128MB

d. On the Storage tab, click on the icon of the Optical Drive and select "Choose Virtual Optical Disk File".

Navigate and select the El Capitan ISO we created earlier...

e. Click the OK button to finalise the VM settings.

Patch El Capitan vbox configuration file with DMI Settings from a Mac

1. From the start menu, type cmd and click run as administrator to open an administrative command prompt.

2. Choose a Mac Model similar to your host system, then type the following lines, followed by <enter> after each line. Make sure you first close all VirtualBox Windows and the VirtualBox program, otherwise any changes you make won't stick...

Eg iMac11,3

cd "C:\Program Files\Oracle\VirtualBox\"
VBoxManage setextradata "El_Capitan" "VBoxInternal/Devices/efi/0/Config/DmiSystemProduct" "iMac11,3"
VBoxManage setextradata "El_Capitan" "VBoxInternal/Devices/efi/0/Config/DmiSystemVersion" "1.0"
VBoxManage setextradata "El_Capitan" "VBoxInternal/Devices/efi/0/Config/DmiBoardProduct" "Mac-F2238BAE"
VBoxManage setextradata "El_Capitan" "VBoxInternal/Devices/smc/0/Config/DeviceKey" "ourhardworkbythesewordsguardedpleasedontsteal(c)AppleComputerInc"
VBoxManage setextradata "El_Capitan" "VBoxInternal/Devices/smc/0/Config/GetKeyFromRealSMC" 1

MacBookPro11,3

cd "C:\Program Files\Oracle\VirtualBox\"
VBoxManage setextradata "El_Capitan" "VBoxInternal/Devices/efi/0/Config/DmiSystemProduct" "MacBookPro11,3"
VBoxManage setextradata "El_Capitan" "VBoxInternal/Devices/efi/0/Config/DmiSystemVersion" "1.0"
VBoxManage setextradata "El_Capitan" "VBoxInternal/Devices/efi/0/Config/DmiBoardProduct" "Mac-2BD1B31983FE1663"
VBoxManage setextradata "El_Capitan" "VBoxInternal/Devices/smc/0/Config/DeviceKey" "ourhardworkbythesewordsguardedpleasedontsteal(c)AppleComputerInc"
VBoxManage setextradata "El_Capitan" "VBoxInternal/Devices/smc/0/Config/GetKeyFromRealSMC" 1

Macmini6,2

cd "C:\Program Files\Oracle\VirtualBox\"
VBoxManage setextradata "El_Capitan" "VBoxInternal/Devices/efi/0/Config/DmiSystemProduct" "Macmini6,2"
VBoxManage setextradata "El_Capitan" "VBoxInternal/Devices/efi/0/Config/DmiSystemVersion" "1.0"
VBoxManage setextradata "El_Capitan" "VBoxInternal/Devices/efi/0/Config/DmiBoardProduct" "Mac-F65AE981FFA204ED"
VBoxManage setextradata "El_Capitan" "VBoxInternal/Devices/smc/0/Config/DeviceKey" "ourhardworkbythesewordsguardedpleasedontsteal(c)AppleComputerInc"
VBoxManage setextradata "El_Capitan" "VBoxInternal/Devices/smc/0/Config/GetKeyFromRealSMC" 1

3. Optional- For some host systems eg those with Haswell and newer CPUs, you might have to spoof an older CPU to avoid VirtualBox errors. You can try from one of the following if this happens:

To spoof Lynnfield i5 750 CPU

VBoxManage.exe modifyvm "El_Capitan" --cpuidset 00000001 000106e5 06100800 0098e3fd bfebfbff

To spoof IvyBridge CPU

VBoxManage.exe modifyvm "El_Capitan" --cpuidset 00000001 000306a9 04100800 7fbae3ff bfebfbff

or

VBoxManage.exe modifyvm "El_Capitan" --cpuidset 00000001 000306a9 00020800 80000201 178bfbff

4. Close the command prompt window.

Installation of El Capitan

We are now ready to start the El_Capitan Virtual Machine....

Installation should be relatively straight forward, just following the prompts of the OS X installer:

1. Select language, agree to legal terms

2. Use Disk Utility from the Utilities Menu to erase and format the virtual hard drive as a single partition GUID Mac OS X Extended. I named my drive "Macintosh HD" but you can enter whatever you like eg El_Capitan.

3. Quit DU and choose Macintosh HD to install El Capitan on.

4. After 20-30 min (depending on how fast your system is), the installation will complete. At this point, unmount the El Capitan ISO by clicking the Devices menu from the VM window, click Optical Drives, then choose Remove disk from virtual drive. The VM is now ready to reboot into OS X from the virtual hard drive.

5. At the welcome screen, choose your country and keyboard layout. You can skip transfer information, location services and logging in with your Apple ID if you wish…

6. Create a User Account and select your Time Zone. You can skip sending diagnostics and usage data to Apple….

7. Finally, you will arrive at the El Capitan Desktop.

8. Network/internet and audio should work OOB but on my system, the sounds were distorted. Unfortunately, there is no QE/CI and the VM resolution will be fixed without the ability to dynamically resize the VM window (no VirtualBox additions for OS X guests atm).

Customization with VBoxManage

1. You can change the default resolution of 1024*768 (after shutting down the VM) with the VBoxManage command from the Windows Administrative Command Prompt:

cd "C:\Program Files\Oracle\VirtualBox\"
VBoxManage setextradata "El_Capitan" VBoxInternal2/EfiGopMode N (Where N can be one of 0,1,2,3,4,5)

referring to the 640x480, 800x600, 1024x768, 1280x1024, 1440x900, 1920x1200 screen resolution respectively.

Update: For VirtualBox 5.2.x, the command for changing screen resolution has changed...

VBoxManage setextradata "<MyVM>" VBoxInternal2/EfiGraphicsResolution XxY (where X=Horizontal screen resolution, Y=Vertical screen resolution)

eg

VBoxManage setextradata "<MyVM>" VBoxInternal2/EfiGraphicsResolution 1280x1024

2. Adding serials and other SMBIOS details for the System Information Screen

VBoxManage setextradata "El_Capitan" "VBoxInternal/Devices/efi/0/Config/DmiSystemSerial" "W8#######B6"
VBoxManage setextradata "El_Capitan" "VBoxInternal/Devices/efi/0/Config/DmiBoardSerial" "W8#########1A"
VBoxManage setextradata "El_Capitan" "VBoxInternal/Devices/efi/0/Config/DmiSystemVendor" "Apple Inc."
VBoxManage setextradata "El_Capitan" "VBoxInternal/Devices/efi/0/Config/DmiSystemFamily" "iMac"
VBoxManage setextradata "El_Capitan" "VBoxInternal/Devices/efi/0/Config/DmiBIOSVersion" "IM112.0057.03B"

A listing of known issues with Mac OS X guests can be found in the VirtualBox Manual - link https://www.virtualbox.org/manual/ch14.html.

Vanilla Mavericks and Yosemite, Snow Leopard from Retail DVD

The same VM settings for El Capitan will also boot and run vanilla installations of OS X Mavericks and Yosemite . Attached to this post are installer scripts to create bootable Mavericks (CMI.tool) and Yosemite (CYI.tool) ISOs for VirtualBox and VMware.

With the respective OS X installer apps in the Applications folder, download and run the installer tools using terminal ie

To create a Mavericks ISO on your desktop

cd downloads
chmod +x CMI.tool
./CMI.tool

To create a Yosemite ISO on your desktop

cd downloads
chmod +x CYI.tool
./CYI.tool

Here is a screenshot of the VM running Mavericks 10.9.5...

Finally, those without a Mac/Hack to prepare the install media can purchase a retail Snow Leopard DVD directly from Apple and install OSX 10.6.3 on their virtual machines (Snow Leopard, Lion and Mountain Lion run quite happily in VirtualBox with 1 CPU, 1-2 GB of RAM and the rest of the settings unchanged from above). Once you update by combo update to SL 10.6.8, you can directly download El Capitan from the App Store for free :thumbsup_anim: .

UPDATE macOS Sierra 10.12 to 10.12.6: For macOS Sierra, use CSI.tool in post#51.

UPDATE macOS High Sierra 17A365: For macOS High Sierra, use CHSI.tool in post#73.

UPDATE macOS Mojave 18A391: For macOS Mojave or High Sierra, use macOS_iso_creator.tool on page 4 of thread.

UPDATE macOS Catalina Beta DP3_19A501i: For Catalina, @jpz4085 has made an automated batch file to create a Catalina VM in Windows with iMac 14,2 SMBIOS. You can still use my macOS_iso_creator.tool on page 5 to make an installer ISO to attach to the VM.

Good luck and enjoy

CECI.tool.zip

CYI.tool.zip

CMI.tool.zip

Edited July 4, 2019 by fusion71au
Update for Catalina 10.15_DP3_19A501i

midi-sama · December 3, 2015

OMG THE REAL MVP IS ON THE SHOW AGAIN!

fusion71au · December 7, 2015

Clover for VirtualBox OS X Guest <--- Update: Legacy Clover no longer works in VirtualBox 5.1.x and VirtualBox 5.2.x (causes red screen error). Need to install in UEFI mode only and press <F12>, select "EFI Hard Drive" from Boot Manager to start VM with Clover

Some users may want to install Clover onto their OS X Guest to spoof a Mac more closely and enable MLB & ROM to be injected for iMessage/Facetime activation.

It is possible to install Clover for "UEFI booting only" if you set the Guest to use EFI BIOS but unfortunately, you have to use the <F12> key each time the VM boots up to select "EFI Hard Drive" and start Clover (VirtualBox's EFI Bios seems hardwired to give priority to boot.efi/Mac OS X above all other EFI options. Even if you change boot priority, it doesn't seem to stick).

If you want to use Clover in VirtualBox, its much easier to use VirtualBox's legacy BIOS and install Clover in legacy mode. During the setup of the Virtual Machine, you can use the same parameters as described in post#1 but uncheck EFI in the "Extended Features" and omit all the VBoxManage efi edits ie

Omit the lines which have "VBoxInternal/Devices/efi/0/Config/" but leave in

VBoxManage setextradata "El_Capitan" "VBoxInternal/Devices/smc/0/Config/DeviceKey" "ourhardworkbythesewordsguardedpleasedontsteal(c)AppleComputerInc"
VBoxManage setextradata "El_Capitan" "VBoxInternal/Devices/smc/0/Config/GetKeyFromRealSMC" 1

If you have already created a VM with the offending lines, you can remove them with VBoxManage eg Open a Windows Administrative Command Prompt and type the following null entries....

cd "C:\Program Files\Oracle\VirtualBox\"
VBoxManage setextradata "El_Capitan" "VBoxInternal/Devices/efi/0/Config/DmiSystemProduct" ""
VBoxManage setextradata "El_Capitan" "VBoxInternal/Devices/efi/0/Config/DmiSystemVersion" ""
VBoxManage setextradata "El_Capitan" "VBoxInternal/Devices/efi/0/Config/DmiBoardProduct" ""

Clover Installation

Choose a custom legacy install of Clover into the EFI System Partition as shown below...

After Clover is installed, you can edit the config.plist with Clover Configurator to remove all injections and patches ---> leave a minimal config.plist but enter your generated/real MLB/ROM in Rt Variables etc.

Make sure to include the following -

boot arguments: -v usb=0x800 keepsyms=1 -serial=0x1 size=36

GUI Screen Resolution: 1024*768

eg of VirtualBox compatible Minimal Clover config.plist

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<!DOCTYPE plist PUBLIC "-//Apple//DTD PLIST 1.0//EN" "http://www.apple.com/DTDs/PropertyList-1.0.dtd">
<plist version="1.0">
<dict>
	<key>ACPI</key>
	<dict>
		<key>DSDT</key>
		<dict>
			<key>Debug</key>
			<false/>
			<key>DropOEM_DSM</key>
			<false/>
			<key>Name</key>
			<string>DSDT.aml</string>
			<key>ReuseFFFF</key>
			<false/>
		</dict>
		<key>DropTables</key>
		<array>
			<dict>
				<key>Signature</key>
				<string>SSDT</string>
				<key>TableId</key>
				<string>CpuPm</string>
			</dict>
			<dict>
				<key>Signature</key>
				<string>DMAR</string>
			</dict>
			<dict>
				<key>Signature</key>
				<string>SSDT</string>
				<key>TableId</key>
				<string>Cpu0Ist</string>
			</dict>
		</array>
		<key>SSDT</key>
		<dict>
			<key>DropOem</key>
			<false/>
			<key>Generate</key>
			<false/>
		</dict>
	</dict>
	<key>Boot</key>
	<dict>
		<key>Arguments</key>
		<string>-v usb=0x800 keepsyms=1 -serial=0x1 size=36</string>
		<key>Debug</key>
		<false/>
		<key>DefaultLoader</key>
		<string>boot.efi</string>
		<key>DefaultVolume</key>
		<string>LastBootedVolume</string>
		<key>Legacy</key>
		<string>PBR</string>
		<key>Secure</key>
		<false/>
		<key>Timeout</key>
		<integer>5</integer>
		<key>XMPDetection</key>
		<false/>
	</dict>
	<key>Devices</key>
	<dict>
		<key>USB</key>
		<dict>
			<key>FixOwnership</key>
			<false/>
			<key>Inject</key>
			<false/>
		</dict>
	</dict>
	<key>GUI</key>
	<dict>
		<key>Mouse</key>
		<dict>
			<key>DoubleClick</key>
			<integer>500</integer>
			<key>Enabled</key>
			<false/>
			<key>Mirror</key>
			<false/>
			<key>Speed</key>
			<integer>8</integer>
		</dict>
		<key>Scan</key>
		<dict>
			<key>Entries</key>
			<true/>
			<key>Legacy</key>
			<false/>
			<key>Tool</key>
			<true/>
		</dict>
		<key>ScreenResolution</key>
		<string>1024x768</string>
		<key>Theme</key>
		<string>BGM</string>
	</dict>
	<key>Graphics</key>
	<dict>
		<key>Inject</key>
		<dict>
			<key>ATI</key>
			<false/>
			<key>Intel</key>
			<false/>
			<key>NVidia</key>
			<false/>
		</dict>
		<key>NvidiaSingle</key>
		<false/>
	</dict>
	<key>KernelAndKextPatches</key>
	<dict>
		<key>AppleRTC</key>
		<false/>
		<key>AsusAICPUPM</key>
		<false/>
		<key>Debug</key>
		<false/>
		<key>KernelCpu</key>
		<false/>
		<key>KernelHaswellE</key>
		<false/>
		<key>KernelLapic</key>
		<false/>
		<key>KernelPm</key>
		<false/>
	</dict>
	<key>RtVariables</key>
	<dict>
		<key>BooterConfig</key>
		<string>0x28</string>
		<key>CsrActiveConfig</key>
		<string>0x0</string>
		<key>MLB</key>
		<string>C02032109R5DC771H</string>
		<key>ROM</key>
		<string>UseMacAddr0</string>
	</dict>
	<key>SMBIOS</key>
	<dict>
		<key>Manufacturer</key>
		<string>Apple Inc.</string>
		<key>Trust</key>
		<false/>
	</dict>
	<key>SystemParameters</key>
	<dict>
		<key>InjectKexts</key>
		<string>No</string>
		<key>InjectSystemID</key>
		<true/>
	</dict>
</dict>
</plist>

Minimal Clover config.plist.zip

Gwan · December 14, 2015

Thanks for this great guide, actually what I was looking for for weeks. It works also under Virtualbox for Linux, and everything went fine until I tried to install Clover in legacy mode.

It boots fine in UEFI mode, but in legacy I get a kernel panic with "zone_init: kmem_suballoc failed". And the virtual machine goes to "Guru Meditation".

Any clues?

fusion71au · December 14, 2015

@Gwan,

You're right, I get the same error with Clover legacy/El Capitan :no: . At the moment with El Capitan and Clover in VirtualBox 5, only UEFI mode works so you have to use F12 on start up of your VM to load Clover first.

It seems like a bug/incompatibility with El Capitan only since Clover legacy works on my system to boot Mavericks and Yosemite without issue.

totbatotammo · December 26, 2015

Is this necessary to do this:

An alternative model to spoof is MacBookPro11,3 with an IvyBridge i7-3770 CPU - substitute the second to fifth lines above with

VBoxManage.exe modifyvm "El_Capitan" --cpuidset 00000001 000306a9 04100800 7fbae3ff bfebfbff
VBoxManage setextradata "El_Capitan" "VBoxInternal/Devices/efi/0/Config/DmiSystemProduct" "MacBookPro11,3"
VBoxManage setextradata "El_Capitan" "VBoxInternal/Devices/efi/0/Config/DmiSystemVersion" "1.0"
VBoxManage setextradata "El_Capitan" "VBoxInternal/Devices/efi/0/Config/DmiBoardProduct" "Mac-2BD1B31983FE1663"

on HP Probook 450 G0 packed with:

Name Intel Core i5 3230M Codename Ivy Bridge Specification Intel® Core i5-3230M CPU @ 2.60GHz

?????

If not!!!!!!

I am facing an issue, my installation got stuck at DSMOS has arrived. Screenshot attached. Can someone help.

fusion71au · December 27, 2015

@totbatotammo,

Not 100% sure about your errors but worth trying the VM with the IvyBridge i7 CPUID or even leaving the --cpuidset line out.

Make sure you have made the El Capitan ISO with a Vanilla app downloaded from the App Store and prepared with the CECI tool.

Also cut and paste the text from the guide to avoid typing/syntax errors.

To determine whether the problem lies with your VirtualBox settings or your installer ISO, you can always try the ISO on VMware instead of VirtualBox .

Edit:

Make sure you close all VirtualBox Windows and the VirtualBox program before you patch the vbox configuration file with VBoxManage, otherwise any changes you make won't stick.

Also try a different Mac model if iMac doesn't work eg

MacBookPro11,3

MacBookPro8,2

Macmini6,2

You can confirm the Mac model being used during verbose boot - look for the prefix to the line

###.local.com.apple.xpc.launchd[1] (MyListenerSocket)

where ### will be iMac, MacBookPro, Macmini etc.

Olla · January 8, 2016

Thank you so much for this amazing tutorial. It worked great on my Lenovo Z510 using Linux as a host OS.

WaltR · January 14, 2016

I too am stuck on DSMO has arrived as well. I'm installing Yosemite.

Went back and tried Lynnfield and Ivy bridge patches. I've even tried Clover following your instructions closely.

Quite the puzzle.

Geraldus · January 19, 2016

Hi pals!

I'm followed this guide but without a luck.

I have tried this approach on two different machines:

Core i3 + 4Gb RAM win 7

Core i5 + 16Gb RAM win 8

I've tried either to make ISO manually (on my MBP), using CECI.tool and finally I've downloaded VDI from TechReviews.

In all cases I see default pointer or spinning rainbow ball on black screen, so it seems installation indeed loads and works but for some unknown reason it fails to start UI properly. Can you suggest something? I would be very happy if I manage to run El Cap as guest system on my office windows machine.

P.S. I had installed Hackintosh successfully several times in past, but in case of office machine I can go only virtual box way.

hackattak · February 6, 2016

May I ask what the main drawbacks are for this?

I'm thinking of doing this for my 80 year old uncle to have iMessage on his PC running Windows 10 as he also uses an iPhone & iPad (but has a Windows PC...very new one too)

Would iMessage work on a virtual ElCap install?

Perhaps Photos too?

Thx all

japzone · February 12, 2016

The good news: Mac OSX EC boots and works in VB on my Laptop.

The problem: 1024x768 is a postage stamp on my monitor(okay, a large postage stamp) and is too cramped to get anything done.

The attempted solution: Installed Clover.

The result: Mac OSX EC boots in 1920x1200, which now makes OSX too big for my 1920x1080 monitor.

I've been fiddling with the config.plist and vbox file, but no matter what I try Clover is stuck at 1920x1200. I can't even make it go to a low resolution like 1024x768. Am I missing something? Before it's suggested, I'm avoiding the "EfiGopMode" method since it doesn't provide a 16:9 aspect option.

bugyt · February 12, 2016

That worked fine. Thank you !

bugyt · February 12, 2016

I have Internet on my El Capitan Virtual Box but I can't login to my App store account. When I try, the Spinning pinwheel turn undefinitely. Any idea ?

Edit :

I added serials and other SMBIOS details for the System Information Screen like mentionned in the guide and it seems to work now. I didn't know it was for this purpose, sorry.

bugyt · February 13, 2016

The good news: Mac OSX EC boots and works in VB on my Laptop.

The problem: 1024x768 is a postage stamp on my monitor(okay, a large postage stamp) and is too cramped to get anything done.

The attempted solution: Installed Clover.

The result: Mac OSX EC boots in 1920x1200, which now makes OSX too big for my 1920x1080 monitor.

I've been fiddling with the config.plist and vbox file, but no matter what I try Clover is stuck at 1920x1200. I can't even make it go to a low resolution like 1024x768. Am I missing something? Before it's suggested, I'm avoiding the "EfiGopMode" method since it doesn't provide a 16:9 aspect option.

Did you try :

VBoxManage setextradata "El_Capitan" "VBoxInternal2/EfiGopMode" N (Where N can be one of 0,1,2,3,4,5)

japzone · February 13, 2016

Did you try :

VBoxManage setextradata "El_Capitan" "VBoxInternal2/EfiGopMode" N (Where N can be one of 0,1,2,3,4,5)

Before it's suggested, I'm avoiding the "EfiGopMode" method since it doesn't provide a 16:9 aspect option.

bugyt · February 13, 2016

Oops :rolleyes:

midi-sama · February 13, 2016

Well it's in the manual chapter 9.8.1: https://www.virtualbox.org/manual/ch09.html#idp46730497496080

VBoxManage setextradata "VM name" "CustomVideoMode1" "1400x1050x16"

You have to change "VM name" by your real VM name (put it in "") then change the "1400x1050x16" to whatever res you would like, for eg: "1920x1080x32".

Write a feedback if it worked.

Thanks

japzone · February 16, 2016

Well it's in the manual chapter 9.8.1: https://www.virtualbox.org/manual/ch09.html#idp46730497496080
VBoxManage setextradata "VM name" "CustomVideoMode1" "1400x1050x16"
You have to change "VM name" by your real VM name (put it in "") then change the "1400x1050x16" to whatever res you would like, for eg: "1920x1080x32".

Write a feedback if it worked.

Thanks

Already tried that and it didn't work.

liutszho · February 18, 2016

Thank you so much for this post!

Too bad virtual box doesn't support guest additions for OSX to setup native shared folders between host and guest.

I'm only left with options like SMB or NFS but both seem to be bottle necking in speeds by the network adapter type options (i.e. Intel PRO/1000 MT Server), I would really like faster than gigabit internet adapters.

After getting an NFS share between host and guest, I am only transferring at 12 MB/s

Darn this would have been absolutely awesome. So close!

I'm going to snoop around and see if there's any chance to activate PCI pass through.

clauden · February 26, 2016

Very best guide so far. Thank you.

Here are my working cpuidset:

(on HP i7 15.6in laptop, vbox 5.0.2, in EFI mode, with osx 10.9-10-11)

::MacBookPro8,2 with an IvyBridge i7-3770 CPU
VBoxManage.exe modifyvm "El_Capitan" --cpuidset 00000001 000006fb 00000800 80000209 078bfbff
VBoxManage setextradata "El_Capitan" "VBoxInternal/Devices/efi/0/Config/DmiSystemProduct" "MacBookPro8,2"
VBoxManage setextradata "El_Capitan" "VBoxInternal/Devices/efi/0/Config/DmiBoardProduct" "Iloveapple"

Few more that you may test:

# unknown cpu
00000001 000206a7 02100800 1fbae3bf bfebfbff
# only for new i3/i5/i7 ivy bridge processor
00000001 000306a9 00020800 80000201 178bfbff
# MacBookPro11,3 with an IvyBridge i7-3770 CPU
00000001 000306a9 04100800 7fbae3ff bfebfbff
# iMac11,3 (27-inch, Mid 2010)
00000001 000106e5 00100800 0098e3fd bfebfbff

In my tests, some of the cpuid's gave errors like "vbox error", DSMOS and disk errors. I kept testing until one worked.

Here's the windows script I use to boot in EFI mode:

osx_efi_launch.bat

@echo off
set VM_NAME=%1

::echo 'configuring cpuid and extradata for %VM_NAME%'
set MANAGE="C:\Program Files\Oracle\VirtualBox\VBoxManage.exe"
set VBOX="C:\Program Files\Oracle\VirtualBox\VirtualBox.exe"


:: MacBookPro8,2 with an IvyBridge i7-3770 CPU
%MANAGE% modifyvm %VM_NAME% --cpuidset 00000001 000006fb 00000800 80000209 078bfbff
%MANAGE% setextradata %VM_NAME% "VBoxInternal/Devices/efi/0/Config/DmiSystemProduct" "MacBookPro8,2"
%MANAGE% setextradata %VM_NAME% "VBoxInternal/Devices/efi/0/Config/DmiBoardProduct" "Iloveapple"

%MANAGE% setextradata %VM_NAME% "VBoxInternal/Devices/efi/0/Config/DmiSystemVersion" "1.0"
%MANAGE% setextradata %VM_NAME% "VBoxInternal/Devices/smc/0/Config/DeviceKey" "ourhardworkbythesewordsguardedpleasedontsteal(c)AppleComputerInc"
%MANAGE% setextradata %VM_NAME% "VBoxInternal/Devices/smc/0/Config/GetKeyFromRealSMC" 1

%MANAGE% setextradata %VM_NAME% VBoxInternal2/EfiGopMode 4
:: 0 640x480
:: 1 800x600
:: 2 1024x768
:: 3 1280x1024
:: 4 1440x900
:: 5 1920x1200

::%MANAGE% showvminfo %VM_NAME%
::pause
start "" %VBOX% --startvm %VM_NAME%

Then I simply create as many shortcuts as I need, in which I modify the target according to the VM name.

d:\path\to\scrpit\osx_efi_launch.bat VIRTUAL_MACHINE_NAME

Script to remove extra data (useful when testing):

@echo off
set VM_NAME=%1

set MANAGE="C:\Program Files\Oracle\VirtualBox\VBoxManage.exe"
set VBOX="C:\Program Files\Oracle\VirtualBox\VirtualBox.exe"

:: note CPUID will be taken out from the .vbox file
:: %MANAGE% modifyvm %VM_NAME% --cpuidset 0
%MANAGE% setextradata %VM_NAME% "VBoxInternal/Devices/efi/0/Config/DmiSystemProduct"
%MANAGE% setextradata %VM_NAME% "VBoxInternal/Devices/efi/0/Config/DmiSystemVersion"
%MANAGE% setextradata %VM_NAME% "VBoxInternal/Devices/efi/0/Config/DmiBoardProduct"
%MANAGE% setextradata %VM_NAME% "VBoxInternal/Devices/smc/0/Config/DeviceKey"
%MANAGE% setextradata %VM_NAME% "VBoxInternal/Devices/smc/0/Config/GetKeyFromRealSMC"
%MANAGE% setextradata %VM_NAME% "CustomVideoMode1"

pause

Hope it helps someone.

I've been fiddling with the config.plist and vbox file, but no matter what I try Clover is stuck at 1920x1200. I can't even make it go to a low resolution like 1024x768. Am I missing something? Before it's suggested, I'm avoiding the "EfiGopMode" method since it doesn't provide a 16:9 aspect option.

According to my test, the cpuid used may override the EfiGopMode. For example this one

# iMac11,3 (27-inch, Mid 2010)
00000001 000106e5 00100800 0098e3fd bfebfbff

would bypass my EfiGopMode=4, while others did not.

Worth the try.

Lalna · March 5, 2016

I followed all the instructions exactly but every time I start it I get stuck here:

hansdvl · March 6, 2016

I followed all the instructions exactly but every time I start it I get stuck here:

I got same problem here..

but I still can not get into installation of el capitan step. it showing these error every time I start the installation.

I have tried to change the cpuidset become those that listed by clauden, still always error.

spakk · March 6, 2016

probably caused the graphics card these problems, if the system should get stuck here: “....Waiting for DSMOS” or “....DSMOS has arrived” .... ...or "IOBluetooth ....missing bluetooth...."

boot with your recent bootargs but in singel user mode as: -s ......... (if a dsdt is used, then boot with: DSDT=NO)

fsck -fy (press the enter key)

mount -uw / (press the enter key)

mkdir /backup (write these and press the enter key)

cd /System/Library/Extensions (write these and press the enter key)

mv AppleIntelHD* AppleIntelSNB* AMDRadeon* ATI* GeForce* NVDA* /backup (write these and press the enter key)

rm ../Caches/com.apple.kext.caches/Startup/kernelcache (write these and press the enter key)

reboot (press the enter key)

~~alternatively:~~

~~connect the USB flash disk or your external HDD to an runnable OS X system~~

~~and remove all graphics drivers, as described above from S/L/E, then fix the permissions and reboot.~~

Lalna · March 7, 2016

probably caused the graphics card these problems, if the system should get stuck here: “....Waiting for DSMOS” or “....DSMOS has arrived” .... ...or "IOBluetooth ....missing bluetooth...."

boot with your recent bootargs but in singel user mode as: -s .........   (if a dsdt is used, then boot with: DSDT=NO)

fsck -fy     (press the enter key)

mount -uw /       (press the enter key)

mkdir /backup      (write these and press the enter key)

cd /System/Library/Extensions        (write these and press the enter key)

mv AppleIntelHD* AppleIntelSNB* AMDRadeon* ATI* GeForce* NVDA* /backup    (write these and press the enter key)

rm ../Caches/com.apple.kext.caches/Startup/kernelcache      (write these and press the enter key)

reboot      (press the enter key)

~~alternatively:~~

~~connect the USB flash disk or your external HDD to an runnable OS X system~~

~~and remove all graphics drivers, as described above from S/L/E, then fix the permissions and reboot.~~

I have no idea what you mean by this? What console do I type those commands in?

So I did everything the same except instead of using the SATA optical drive I used an IDE one to mount the .iso

It gets to here:

Then this happens:

About every 2 mins a new blank line appears and no matter how long I leave it is never progresses.

Does this method not work for the 10 Dec 2015 build of El Capitan?

Run Vanilla OS X El Capitan, Sierra, High Sierra or Mojave in VirtualBox 5.x.x on a Windows Host

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