Running macOS on VirtualBox

Are you looking for a way to run macOS on your virtual machine? Look no further! With the right steps and configurations, you can successfully set up a macOS High Sierra VM on your Mac host system. In this article, we'll guide you through the process of creating a macOS install ISO file and configuring VirtualBox to run macOS High Sierra.

Step 1: Download macOS High Sierra

The first step is to download macOS High Sierra from the Mac App Store. Make sure to download the correct version, as Apple made some changes to the installer that are important for getting this VM running. If you have downloaded the previous version before October 5th, delete it and redownload it.

Step 2: Create a macOS Install ISO File

To create a macOS install ISO file, open a Terminal window and create a virtual USB flash drive or disk image. The version of the 'Install macOS High Sierra.app' needs to be 13.0.66 or above. You will also need around 20 GB of disk space for the virtual machine.

Step 3: Configure VirtualBox

Now it's time to configure VirtualBox to run macOS High Sierra. Here are the steps:

* Click on 'View' in the top left corner of the Disk Utility window and choose 'Show All Devices.'

* Wait until the language chooser appears and choose your language.

* Stick with the default values of all other options and apply the settings with the 'OK' button.

* In Storage, select Optical Drive (Empty) and choose the HighSierra.iso from your desktop folder.

* For non-solid state drives, the installer will not convert the virtual disk to APFS and leave it untouched as a HFS+ volume.

* In Storage, do not activate Solid-state Drive. This is important because the macOS installer converts your virtual partition to APFS if it detects it as a solid-state drive, which VirtualBox does not support at this moment.

* Increase Video Memory to 128 MB in Display > Screen.

* Change CPU to two in System > Processor and set execution cap to 80% (optional).

* Deactivate Floppy in System > Motherboard > Boot Order.

* Set the virtual hard disk size to around 20 GB, as an empty installation of macOS High Sierra takes about 11.4 GB.

* Choose Mac OS X (64-bit) or macOS 10.13 High Sierra (64-bit) as the version and name your VM 'macOS' or whatever you prefer.

Additional Tips

* Make sure to have at least 4096 MB RAM of host memory, more is better.

* If you're using an older version of VirtualBox, update it to the latest version for better performance.

* Keep in mind that running a virtual machine can be resource-intensive and may slow down your host system.

By following these steps, you should be able to successfully set up a macOS High Sierra VM on your Mac host system. Remember to be patient and adjust settings as needed to ensure optimal performance. Happy virtualizing!

Running mac os on virtualbox