How To Install Yosemite On Virtualbox

Nosotros've previously shown y'all how to install Os Ten Mavericks on a virtual machine by using Niresh, which is great practise for installing Mac OS Ten on your actual computer. And now that Apple has released Bone X Yosemite, information technology'southward only fitting that we show you how to install Yosemite in a virtual machine as well. For this guide, we'll exist using the "Yosemite Zone" distro, which is really but a rebranded version of the old Niresh distro that we used in our Mavericks guide. While we've already shown y'all how to install Yosemite on your bodily reckoner with Yosemite Zone, information technology also works bully with virtual machines.

In essence, this method will allow you lot run Mac OS X from within a program window in Windows. As always, we're going to use Virtualbox for this. Information technology's important to note that Windows virtualization programs do non "officially" back up Mac OS X, so you will non exist able to enable full graphics back up. This tutorial should only be taken as a proof of concept.

Computer Requirements

You need a calculator with Windows to run Mac Bone X on Windows (of course). The "Arrangement Type" of your copy of Windows needs to exist 64-bit, because OS X Yosemite is a 64-chip operating system. If you take a 32-scrap copy of Windows, you tin can only install Mac Bone 10 Snow Leopard on Virtualbox. You will demand at least four GB of RAM and a dual-core (2 core) processor or improve. Personally, the computer I was using for this had a 4-core processor and 12 GB RAM, which is way more than than enough. You also need about 10 GB of unused difficult drive space.

Right click on "My Computer" on your desktop and click "Properties" to check the stats on your computer. If it doesn't direct tell you how many cores your processor has, look upwards your processor model on Wikipedia or Google. Yous besides want to notice out whether your processor is made past "Intel" or "AMD". While Yosemite Zone technically works with both types of processors, if you accept an AMD processor, you lot'll accept to perform a few extra steps during the installation (and the final result may not work also, either).

General Requirements

Virtualbox : This virtualization suite is free, and though information technology doesn't offer official support for Mac Bone X, it works well enough.

Yosemite Zone: Unfortunately, the standard "Unibeast" method for installing Os X Yosemite on PCs (which uses an official copy of the Yosemite installer) doesn't work with Virtualbox. Instead, you lot'll take to pirated "distros" of Mac OS X such as Yosemite Zone, which is at present the most popular distro for Bone X Yosemite right now.
You volition need to use a bittorrent customer to download the Yosemite Zone deejay paradigm file, which is around 5 GB in size. On the Hackintosh Zone website, you lot can get the appropriate torrent by choosing "Yosemite ISO Torrent.zip". (Practise non choose the "DMG Torrent", every bit information technology does not work with Virtualbox.) Once you've downloaded the correct torrent, open up information technology on your bittorrent client then that you tin download the bodily disk image file.

Download Virtualbox, install it, and open it upwards. Also, if you desire to be able to view USB devices from your Mac Bone Ten virtual machine, download the Virtualbox Extension Pack and run itbefore going to Step 2.

Footstep 2: Create a new virtual car.

Virtualbox lets you run Mac Os X within Windows by creating a virtual machine, which is a plan that simulates a normal figurer. To create a virtual machine, open up Virtualbox and click "New" on the upper left. Give your new virtual auto a name, and choose "Mac Os X" for the OS Type.

If your version of Virtualbox asks you to choose between 64-bit and 32-chip, exist sure to choose 64-flake. Choosing 32-flake volition result in a critical "Guru Meditation" fault afterwards on.

I recommend assigning four GB of RAM to the virtual machine, just you can assign equally footling as 2 GB of RAM. Every time you plough on Mac Os 10, that RAM that you assign hither will be used to run the virtual car. The RAM will be given dorsum to your normal computer after you plough Virtualbox off.

You'll then need to create a "virtual difficult drive" for the virtual motorcar. Virtualbox volition ask you what type of bulldoze you want to create: VDI, VDMK, or VHD. VDI is the original format for Virtualbox, while VDMK is the format used by VMWare. If you're considering getting a re-create of VMWare, you lot might want to cull VDMK. Otherwise, just choose VDI. I recommend creating a dynamically expanding bulldoze-- the other option ("fixed sized storage") is a waste of space.

You'll need to allocate at to the lowest degree 10 GB of space for this new virtual hard drive; the default of 20 GB will work fine.

Step 3: Give your new virtual car an operating system.

Your virtual machine will at present be created. But don't stop at present--y'all still need to change a few settings before your automobile will really work. Your new virtual automobile will show up on the left cavalcade of the Virtualbox get-go page. Select your Mac Os 10 virtual machine (single-click) from the chief page of Virtualbox, and open the virtual machine settings. Once the settings open up up, become to "System" and uncheck the "Enable EFI" box. This is by far the most important unmarried setting that you will need to change.

EFI, which stands for Extended Firmware Interface, is a feature that helps operating systems start up. Unfortunately, Mac OSX requires "special" EFI, so the EFI that Virtualbox uses doesn't work.

Once you lot're washed with that, go to the settings for "Storage". In the storage tree box, yous'll see a CD icon labeled "Empty". Click on it and click "Choose a virtual CD/DVD deejay file". In the window that pops up, cull the .iso file for Yosemite Zone; this file will probably exist named "Yosemite-Zone.iso".

This manner, when your virtual automobile starts for the commencement time, it volition kick into the Yosemite Zone installer plan.

Stride four: Install Os X Yosemite

Offset upwards your virtual machine. You will come up to the Yosemite Zone boot screen, with i option to select: Yosemite Zone. Printing the "Enter" fundamental on your keyboard.

Note 1: If your computer uses an AMD processor, you will accept to type the boot flag "/amd" or "/amd64" (without quotation marks)-- which flag you lot need depends on your specific processor, so examination i flag at a time. Type the kick flag "/amdfx" (too without quotation marks) if your AMD processor has "FX" in its model proper name.

NOTE 2: Virtualbox may accept problems booting Mac Bone Ten if your reckoner uses an Intel Haswell processor (i.e. if your figurer was built/bought in 2022 or later). If this is this case, y'all will take to trick Virtualbox into thinking that your processor is actually an older model.To do this, open the Command Prompt in Windows (make sure you are logged into an Ambassador business relationship on Windows). You can do this by opening the Start Menu, and typing "command prompt" into the Outset Menu search bar. Then, blazon the following command into the Command Prompt.

cd "C:\Program Files\Oracle\Virtualbox"

This command will modify the focus of the Control Prompt to the program binder for Virtualbox (if you installed Virtualbox somewhere different, then modify the command to wherever you installed it). Adjacent, type in this command:

VBoxManage modifyvm <Name of virtual machine> --cpuidset 00000001 000306a9 00020800 80000201 178bfbff

This command activates "vboxmanage", a control-line plan included with Virtualbox that allows you to edit the properties of your virtual machine, including its built-in resolutions. Replace "Proper noun of virtual auto" with the name of your virtual motorcar (no quotation marks)-- you can observe the proper name of your virtual machine in the left pane of the Virtualbox chief window. This command should do the trick. - Source

After you press the "enter" primal, wait a few seconds, and the virtual machine will automatically commencement the Mac Bone X installer. (This startup process may accept anywhere from 30 seconds to 15 minutes, depending on your computer's hardware.) Eventually, y'all will reach the welcome folio of the installer.

Go along, and you volition eventually reach a page that asks yous for a "destination" for your Mac install. At outset, your only option will be the Yosemite Zone ISO file, which isn't going to piece of work-- you lot can't install Os X Yosemite on the ISO itself. Instead, starting time up Disk Utility (located under the Utilities menu).

Mac OSX can only exist installed on a completely clean deejay, so you need to employ Disk Utility to wipe your Virtualbox difficult drive. Click on the Virtualbox hard drive in Deejay Utility and erase it. Don't worry, there'due south nothing of import on it.

On the installation summary page for Mac OSX, the Virtualbox hard disk should now exist showing up. Click the "Customize" button on the lower left-hand corner of the summary folio. This is where using a distro becomes really useful: Yosemite Zone allows you to install actress Hackintosh drivers and kexts, direct from the Os X Yosemite installer.

The default option will enable Mac Bone X to kick from the virtual machine without whatsoever assistance. The are merely two things you need to change:

UncheckInstall Sound Drivers (Kexts) and Install Network Drivers (Kexts). These ii options are checked by default. Normally, they volition allow Yosemite Zone to automatically find your computer's audio codec and ethernet controller, and install the appropriate kexts so that your audio and net volition piece of work immediately in Mac Bone X. However, both audio and ethernet should already work by default in Virtualbox, and then neither of these options is really necessary.

Uncheck Graphics -> GraphicsEnabler=Yes. This pick is also checked by default. Ordinarily, it allows Mac Os X to work better with your computer's graphics menu. Yet, Virtualbox doesn't support Mac OS X graphics anyways, so this selection is essentially pointless for virtual machines. All information technology does is decrease the default screen size of your virtual car from 1280x1024 to 1024x768.

Once you take selected the appropriate options from the "Customize" screen, return to the installation summary page and click "Install". This will take anywhere from 10 minutes to an 60 minutes, depending on your computer's hardware.

When the installation finishes, the OS X installer will probably crash and display a crash log. This is normal; Os Ten Yosemite has nevertheless installed successfully. At present proceed to the next pace.

Step 5: Kick it up

Restart your virtual machine, andeject the Yosemite Zone ISO file from your virtual DVD drive. To do this, right-click on the CD icon at the bottom right of the Virtualbox window, and united nations-check the Yosemite Zone file (probably named "Yosemite-Zone.iso").Your mouse cursor will probably be trapped inside the virtual auto. Press the right "Ctrl" key on your keyboard to allow your mouse to escape.

After ejecting Yosemite Zone, restart your virtual machine again. Now, at the bootup screen, you lot'll see an Apple icon for the hard drive where y'all installed Yosemite (also, the screen of your virtual machine might be bigger than before).

Bone Ten Yosemite will at present start. This will accept anywhere from 30 seconds to xv minutes, depending on your estimator'southward hardware. You should eventually exist led to the Mac Os 10 setup screen. Fill it out, then mission accomplished!

This concludes the offset part of the guide. You'll have to expect a few minutes for Yosemite Zone to finish installing its extra kexts and drivers, but subsequently that, sound and ethernet should both work automatically. However, you're non washed still! You still take to enable increase the screen resolution of your virtual auto, which is probably still stuck at 1280x1024 (or fifty-fifty 1024x768).

NOTE i: One mutual issue with Yosemite Zone is that it tends to lag out of the account creation process, and skip straight to the Mac OS X login screen before you tin make your ain account. If this happens, only log into Mac OS 10 with the post-obit credentials:

Username: root
Countersign: niresh

This volition log yous into the "root" account of Mac OS X. From hither, open up the System Preferences app, get to "Users & Groups", and create your ain account. (We don't recommend that you lot utilize the root business relationship permanently, because information technology is insecure.)

Notation 2: Another common issue with Yosemite Zone is that the ethernet (internet) might non work immediately within your virtual automobile. If this is the instance, you may be able to fix the problem by switching your virtual car to a different Network Adapter.

To exercise this, plow off your virtual motorcar. And then select your virtual car (single-click) from the main window of Virtualbox, and open up the settings. Go to "Network", and open up the "Advanced" department. From there, change the "Adapter Type" from the default "Intel PRO/yard T Server" to the alternative "Intel PRO/yard MT Server" instead.

Stride vi: Make the screen bigger
Though this step is optional, I nonetheless recommend you do it anyways. Anyways, when you showtime employ your virtual machine, y'all'll probably notice one thing: your screen resolution is 1280x1024 (or 1024x768 if you forgot to plough off GraphicsEnabler=Yes). Since Virtualbox doesn't "technically" back up Mac Os X, at that place's no official manner to alter this. But hither'southward how yous can alter it anyways.

Showtime, you need to access org.Chameleon.kicking.plist, the settings file for your virtual machine'due south Mac Bone X bootloader. Yous can exercise this from Finder, the file browser built into Mac Bone X. Yet, Finder hides your difficult drives in Yosemite past default. To unhide them, open Finder, and click on File -> Preferences in the menu bar at the top of Mac OS X. Under the "Sidebar" settings, check "Hard disks", so that Finder volition display your virtual machine'southward difficult disks in the sidebar.

In one case that'southward washed, access your virtual machine's primary difficult drive through Finder, and get to the binder "Extra". Open up the file org.Chameleon.kicking.plist. Between <dict> and </dict> in the file, insert the following line.

<fundamental>Graphics Mode</key>

<string>1920x1080x32</string>

You tin change "1920x1080x32" to any resolution all-time fits your monitor. For example, if you want to use the 1600x900 resolution, type in "1600x900x32". Once yous've saved it, plow off the virtual car.

Next, turn off your virtual machine. Open up the Command Prompt in Windows (make sure you lot are logged into an Administrator account on Windows). You can do this past opening the Start Menu, and typing "command prompt" into the Start Menu search bar. Then, type the post-obit control into the Command Prompt.

cd "C:\Program Files\Oracle\Virtualbox"

This command will change the focus of the Command Prompt to the program folder for Virtualbox (if y'all installed Virtualbox somewhere different, then change the command to wherever you lot installed it). Next, type in this command:

vboxmanage setextradata "Name of virtual machine" "CustomVideoMode1" "1920x1080x32"

This command activates "vboxmanage", a control-line program included with Virtualbox that allows yous to edit the backdrop of your virtual machine, including its congenital-in resolutions. Replace "Name of virtual car" with the proper noun of your virtual machine-- you can find the name of your virtual machine in the left pane of the Virtualbox main window (in the screenshot below, my virtual machine is named "Mountain Mac 2"). Supervene upon "1920x1080x32" with whatever resolution you're using.

Press the enter cardinal to submit the command. Once that'southward washed, starting time your virtual machine again.Your virtual machine will now boot Yosemite in full resolution. Congrats!

Recap
I'll just repeat what I said in my other ii Virtualbox guides. Installing Mac Os X on a virtual machine is excellent practise for the existent thing: installing Mac Os X on your actual estimator. Don't go too comfortable, though. Compared to most computers, Virtualbox virtual machines are very "vanilla", significant that they're very compatible with Mac OS X in the first place. You can't count on being that lucky with a real PC.

And fifty-fifty if y'all don't plan on doing this for real, with a Hackintosh, it'southward still a really cool affair to try out over the weekend.