Snow Leopard in VMWARE Post Installation Fixes and Tweaks
Recently we published How to install Snow Leopard in VMWARE 7 and Windows host, many successful installations have been reported. A few folks asked as about some problems e.g. “Mac OS X is not supported with software virtualization. To run Mac OS X you need a host on which VMware Fusion supports hardware virtualization.” “Default resolution is 1280×1024 how can i increase the resolution” and “My sound isn’t working in VMware installl”. So i decided to publish a new detailed post rather than editing the existing post.
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Mac OS X is not supported with software virtualization
Christian Delgado cracked the mystery and he already shared with us in our comment section, anyway i m sharing again with you here.
For those that keep getting the “Mac OS X is not supported with software virtualization. To run Mac OS X you need a host on which VMware Fusion supports hardware virtualization.” error. I was having the same thing, it means your processor does not support virtualization, you would probably get the same thing on if you try to use virtual pc with xp mode on windows 7. So I was really curious why my intel core 2 duo processor did not support it. Then I was checking out my BIOS Settings, and the virtualization feature was off on my BIOS.
Change The Resolution
- Boot your Snow leopard VMware installation and copy the boot.plist file to your desktop, you can find boot.plist >> /Library/Preferences/SystemConfiguration/com.apple.Boot.plist
- Open the file you moved to desktop, and add following two lines before </dict>
<key>Graphics Mode</key>
<string>1280x1024x32</string>
- Replace the 1280x1024x32 with the resolution you want, here 1280×1024 is your screen resolution and x32 is refresh rate. Don’t change the refresh rate just change the resolution according to your monitor.
- Save the file as com.apple.Boot.plist on the Desktop (make sure the .plist part is there!)
- Navigate the the /Library/Preferences/SystemConfiguration/ folder
- Drag your com.apple.Boot.plist file on the Desktop into the folder window, When a messages appears, click Authenticate and Replace and enter your password.
- You’re done! Reboot OS X to see the changes
Here is an example of what the com.Apple.boot.plist file looks like with after editing the code
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<!DOCTYPE plist PUBLIC "-//Apple Computer//DTD PLIST 1.0//EN" "http://
www.apple.com/DTDs/PropertyList-1.0.dtd">
<plist version="1.0">
<dict>
<key>kernel</key>
<string>mach_kernel</string>
<key>Kernel Flags</key>
<string></string>
<key>Graphics Mode</key>
<string>1280x1024x32</string>
</dict>
</plist>
Installing Sound Driver
First of all take a snapshot of the VM, now look for EnsoniqAudioPCI.mpkg.tar.gz from the Snowy_Vmware_files.tbz2 archive you downloaded earlier. Simply launch the pkg and choose both options, type your password when prompted and once installation finishes reboot your system.
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Thanks for the post , another tip : install vmware tools To get the graphics that fit your onitor without editing any files , to install it : VM > Removable Devices > CD/DVD IDE > Connect
Then Click on the icon which will appear on the disktop and click “install vmware tools” .
It works on VMware Workstation 7 Linux running on FEDORA 11 x86_64.
The installation worked perfectly. Updated to 10.6.2 and applied the Sound extra package.
Everything works including the 1280×1024 resolution quick fix.
However, I cannot get install the VMware Tools… Vmware complains about not being able to find component on update server. Is there a separate download for the vmware tools ? Does it improve the Display capabilities such as: Core Image and Quartz Extreme ?
Otherwise, good stuff and thanks!
Eric
This worked like a charm for me. However has anyone had success updating to 10.6.2? worked fine for me except the mouse click stopped working for me.
Could you upload the whole vmware image. thank you very much
ok, everything works A1. I mean OSX 10.6.2 running on VMware Workstation 7 Linux x86_64.
I finally found the vmware-tools for mac osx on a copy of VMware Fusion 3 that I own.
So now I run in fullscreen mode: 1920x1200x32 with network and sound
Happy New Year!
Eric
I keep getting the “Mac OS X is not supported with software virtualization. To run Mac OS X you need a host on which VMware Fusion supports hardware virtualization.” error.
And i have enabled the bios option.
Im running in a Dell Studio XPS Core 2 Duo computer.
Can you guys help me?
@Adam, after updating to 10.6.2, add the following to your VMX file..
monitor.virtual_exec = “hardware”
monitor.virtual_mmu = “software”
keyboard.vusb.enable = “TRUE”
mouse.vusb.enable = “TRUE”
I have 10.6.2 and everything works very well…
After installation, It just hangs at the grey screen with the apple logo, with a loading icon…
Can you please help???
My processor is a Core 2 T2500, and supports hardware virtualization. I have the option turned on in my BIOS, however I still receive the error message “Mac OS X is not supported with software virtualization”
Any further steps I can take to debug whether VMware Workstation is recognizing my hardware correctly? Do I have to configure the virtual machine further?
Any help would be extremely appreciated, thanks.
Although this works and I had no problems with the install and was able to get the audio and the screen size adjusted by use of the “fixes” above I cannot play a DVD as there is no graphics hardware installed and cannot burn a CD or even play a standard music cd with Itunes. MP3′s play and I can “see” a movie DVD but I get a message that there is no hardware to play the DVD on the machine. Is there a fix for this? I have installed Iwork and it seems to work but during an attempt to install ILife the OS stopped responding. I assume that this was due to a lack of graphics hardware in the OS. Can this be patched of can you tell me how to “fix” this?
worked like a charm. updated to 10.6.2. however, mouse/keyboard input takes a while after the update, but works.
ive installed vmware tools, but cant change the resolution using display options. does anyone know any other way to get HW accelleration working? (QE/CI)
update: display config works now! (forgot to do a reboot lol)
Thanks! The tweaks worked well. Almost everything is working fine even with the latest OS updates. My only issue is that my mouse stops working after about 15 minutes. Its driving me crazy cause I’m so close. Any thoughts or tweaks that will stop this? I am using a bluetooth mouse/keyboard combination Logitech MX5000 if that makes a difference.
@Adam – Try starting in VM Player, it worked for me after I did the software updates
Thanks for the tips guys. I am using VMWare WkSt 7, and when I add
monitor.virtual_exec = “hardware”
monitor.virtual_mmu = “software”
keyboard.vusb.enable = “TRUE”
mouse.vusb.enable = “TRUE”
I get a dictionary error when i start it up.
Enabling Intel VT in bios wasn’t enough for me, I had to change the CPU setting in the VM to VT too, it wouldnt work with “automatic”. Installing now as I type.
Hi there, am kind of new to all this but I still undersatnd the hole procedure. However, when is geting ready for installation ( am using MAC OS X 10.6.1 ) a screen pups up saying ” Mac OS X can’t be installed on this computer – options> restore from backuo OR Restart”
Am I forgeting to change any settings?
If anyone could help me I’ll really appreciate it!!
Admin MAC said:
After installation, It just hangs at the grey screen with the apple logo, with a loading icon…
Can you please help???
In order to solve this problem you must change the virtualization engine on vmware machine settings, by default is in “Automatic” mode but it should be in “VT-X or AMD-V” mode.
It worked for me.
hi there,
every things works just fine, is there a possibilty to expand the size of the hd? You can do it with vmware but im not able to repartioned in osx..
Best regards and thanks for help
I’m getting the “Mac OS X is not supported with software virtualization. To run Mac OS X you need a host on which VMware Fusion supports hardware virtualization.” error. I have updated my bios but there is no virtualization option at all, in them. Processor is Intel core2 duo. Am I stuffed? So close but yet so far
Can someone help me with hardware acceleration? I really want it because sometimes its really slow (Magnification of the dock)is there a .kext or a .plist or a driver??
Got the same Problem as Hector!
First i had the problem “Mac OS X is not supported with software virtualization. To run Mac OS X you need a host on which VMware Fusion supports hardware virtualization.”
After changing the BIOS setting
(the virtualization point i found under topic cpu and not power like the screenshot show)
i can start the installation to the first mac window.
There i can choose the language.
At the next window I get the same error message as Hector
” Mac OS X can’t be installed on this computer – options> restore from backup OR Restart”
when i saw this message i can go to erase the hdd to “Mac OS Extended (Journaled)” which i did.
Can anyone help me pls? Getting crazy because i’m trying to install mac since 2 or 3 days!!!
@Zantros
How’s your iWork? Is it fully functioning? Mine has issues, in the sense that it’s only all white in the workplace when it should really show stuff (the slide in Keynote, the cells in Math, etc)
I’ve succesfully installed it, but there’s a problem
after updating to 10.6.2 I have to wait 5 to 10 minutes before I’m able to click with my mouse or use my keyboard.
after that they work correctly though.
also, the boot problem is caused by fakesmc, it can be solved by (if you’ve finally booted) installing the kext on http://netkas.org/?cat=15
edit, I was wrong, but it is caused by SMC in general
open up Mac OS X Server 10.6 (experimental).vmx in notepad/nano (works in linux too) and change smc.present=”TRUE” to smc.present=”FALSE”
boot will be way faster too, and it solves the mouse and keyboard delay too!
also, I’ll create a torrent around friday
hello there
the tweaks are just fine, i installed the macosx and updated 10.6.2, it’s working perfect but i have some performance issues.
hey guys,
I installed 10.6 fine, with VM7 no problems, was working great, installed xcore, ilife etc etc but I was having an issue opening images, I could see the thumbnails but no pics with Preview or iPhoto so I updated to 10.6.2 it installed, and now I can’t boot back in, it starts up, I see the apple logo but before it even tries to load it just restarts and says OS not found, even though the first time it said Loading Darwin… any ideas? using a new hp laptop, intel i3. thanks in advance!
Adriam, how do I change the VMware from automatic to “VT-X” or “AMD-V”? Every time I apply an update I get stuck at the gray screen at the beginning after force restarting and just get an apple logo with the spinning wheel.
nvm I got it woohoo! Only thing I have to do now is find out how to get my built in camera working
I am 100% sure I changed my BIOS setting which supported VT… I installed 10.6 works fine if and only if I use 1 CPU cuz with 2 CPUs it ran the installation extremely crazily slow.. and use only 1024MB for RAM
after installed, I tried to update to 10.6.2, after update, and I got the same Error:
Mac OS X is not supported with software virtualization. To run Mac OS X you need a host on which VMware Fusion supports hardware virtualization.
For some reasons, the BIOS setting is not really saved, it seems that I have to go to the BIOS to change VT to disable and enable, save BIOS, then VMware will recognize it has hardware VT… so strange… I am using Windows 7 and VMware workstation 7…
I guess I may need to uninstall and reinstall the VMware again and see if it works…
Got a solution for the “Could not install – Restore from Backup or Restart”
(I did it with VMWare Player 3)
1. Search for someone who has a MAC and a USB-Stick converted for MAC
2. Let him make a Backup of his MAC with TimeMachine on the USB-Stick
3. Start your VM and go until it says Backup or Restart
4. Choose Backup and be sure that the Stick is in your PC and connected to VMWare
5. Now the Stick has to be shown as a target for the Restore
6. Choose the Stick and restore the Backup
(This needs a lot of time, up to 1-2 hours or more)
7. For starting MAC OS X the Darwin_snow.iso has to be choosen
Is there a way to expand the size of the virtual hard drive?
RE: d4m4s74′s suggestion about smc.present=”False”
It is working!!
no more wait 5 to 10 mins in order to control mouse and keyboard. Thanks.
I still can not install driver for nvidia display card…
Anyone help?
Has anyone gotten CI/QE to work inside VM Ware?
@Eric
Can you tell me how do you get the vmware tools to work on vmware workstaion 7 on ubuntu?
nvm i just found how to do it.
I mounted the darwin.iso inside snow leopard. Then there is a prompt to install vmware tools.
ok, i finally installed vmware tools on mac, here how to get them:
1- goto vmare site , download VMWare fusion trial
2- you’ll get a VMware-Fusion-3.0.1-215242-light.dmg file
3- goto the cd in VMware then settings, choose “Use ISO image” click browse then make the file type “all files” select the VMware-Fusion-3.0.1-215242-light.dmg , don’t forget to check “connected”
4- in mac vm, you’ll see the vmware fusion mounted, install it, ignore the fusion serial.
5- after installing goto /Library/Application Support/VMware Fusion/iso images get the darwin.iso file , double click on it, and you’ll get it mounted, this is the VMware-tools for mac, install them and restart!
@lenx
I got the vmware-tools by using the one bundled with vmWare Fusion 3. I own a few Mac and vmWare Fusion is what allows me to run vm on both Linux & Mac.
I might suggest to download a trial version and get the vmware-tools for OSX from it.
Hello! I’ve installed mac os x 10.6.2 on a vmware 7!The problem are:
1)When i boot up the sistem block at the grey screen with the apple.I’ve to try a lot of time to boot to start the machine.
2)I have a ati mobility radeon hd 4650 where i can find the driver?
My computer is an hp pavilion dv6-1341el with windows 7
I’ve followed all advice on this page and everything works great except programs in iWork. Like another poster above, the iWork programs only display white in the main work area. For example, numbers has the tool bar and side bar but no grids.
Anyone have suggestions???
namtrig, I’m sure other programs like iLife doesn’t work too, right?
Correct. Seems like it has something to do with not having Quartz Extreme support in VMWare . I’m just wondering if anyone has figured out a work around.
I would like to point out that the 32 after the resolution is the color depth, not the refresh rate. I’d still recommend not changing it unless there’s a specific reason you want 16-bit color.
anyone know how to get airport detected on a laptop?
also, my 3d acceleration seems not to help much
Hi – got everything working but am having the same issues with the Preview not working. Updated without problems to 10.6.2.
Anybody solve this?
All works fine except “Preview”.
However, if the image is SaveAs pdf. It can appear correctly in “Preview”.
Is there any alternative that can work exactly like what “Preview” do?
pls. anyone can me help to install mac osx on my pc windows 7 ultimate because everytime i boot it appears always error………. my pc is intel quad core Q9550
Followed d4m4s74′s suggestion changing smc.present to ”FALSE”
10.6.2 working great
Using Vmware is perfect!!!
is it possible install this process into main HD of my PC w/o using vmware?
Thanks! This is an awesome easy hackintosh!
One possibly stupid question though…
I have a triple display setup running eyefinity, so for all intents I basically have a 5040 x 1050 desktop. Is there any way of using the post hack to span this across all three displays? I tried putting that resolution in the .plist file, but still only fits to one display.
Why would I want to do this? I have no idea! Just think it would be pretty badass to be able to say I have a 5040 x 1050 Mac, running an i7 processor! I’d bet I’d be the first!
Thanks again!
Hello i am trying this with VMWare Player 3.0.1 and a Core 2 Solo processor and every time I try to install it says “Mac OS X can’t be installed on this computer.” And the choices are: “restore from backup” and “Restart”. What should I do/what is wrong?
amtrig (to fix the FULL-SCREEN Mode shows all WHITE, there is (In the ideneb leopard intel mac osx leopard release) OSX86 Tools, enable the crystal or zephyr or whatever its name is there and the screen will display fine in full screen mode) I am not sure about in Snow Leopard…
P.S. The VMWare Intel iDeneb MAC OSX 10.5.8 Works 100% If you like old PPC Stuff… Power PC won’t do Silverlight versions above V1… Yes, so it’s not much worth even running it. Also the multimedia is slow even on my i7-x58 PC with 8 cpu’s. 12GB DDR3 RAM overclocked to 3.60GHZ. I did install MS OFFICE 2008 and it runs nicely but its the last version that will be supported in PPC Mode… Everything and I mean everything works, raid,net,sound,itunes, backup time machine,full screen w/osx86 tool tweaks,but again if you leave it on for a few minutes alot of times it will lockup and has to be powered-off. Anyway that’s my experience.
Enjoy!
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StanDP.~A.K.A.~”NecroGnomezZz”
{Avid PC Enthusiast Since 1982…!}
……~<(___)~CheerzZz…!-=8^)~…..
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Any word on whether updating to 10.6.3 will break this?
I got it all installed, however i am also having the:
ACPI_SMC_PlatformPlugin::start – waitForService(resourceMatching(AppleIntelCPUPowerManagement))
error. PLEASE Help!! I really want to get this working and i think this is the last hurdle.
I have the Vmware Snow leopard graphics driver so you can use all resolutions!! Realy works Download here: http://www.kexts.com/view/314-vmware_workstation_7_display_driver_mac.html
I got 10.6.3 to work on my laptop. I used a genuine Leopard install disk to get 10.6, then from 10.6 went straight to 10.6.3, using the updater within OS X and everything works great. The only thing is I’mt trying to get my laptop’s native webcam to work with OS X, so far no luck though also idk if it’s possible to to get it working within VMware
I only have vm player not workstation. i edited the vmx file the same way it would be edited in vmware workstation to point to the snow darwin iso. But when i start the vm with my finger on f8 it says Mac OS isn’t supported in virtual environments – it SAYS NOTHING about the hardware or fusion support. Is something happening in workstation that I can’t make happen in player?
I’d very much recommend installing these pkgs:
http://sourceforge.net/projects/vmsvga2/
You’ll have to install VMware tools first (found from the darwin boot cd/image). Now the performance is just great on my Core i5 520 VAIO.
Only problem is slight clicks/stops when playing music or videos, but I can live with that.
Thanks for the guides!
It sounds like we have lot of successes including myself. One tip I have is that by adding a second CD/DVD in VMWare I didn’t have to reconnect the DVD after Darwin starts, and I can actually use the DVD drive for installing software, etc.
The real question now is: is ANYONE successfully using Quartz Extreme?
i encounterd an timing error and then the whole wm shuts down
help
invalid front bus frequency 66000000
hz
disable cpu and then it diyes
help
Hi there!
Got 10.6.3 working like a charm in VMWare 7 on a W7x64 Dell Studio XPS 16 laptop!
Just one thing. I want to transfer some files between the host and the guest. Is there any way to do this? Seems like OS X is not able to write to a VMWare shared host folder.
Perhaps use a USB-drive? But USB passthrough is not working either…
Any ideas?
Sincerely,
Oystein
Anyone have any luck getting their Web cam to work on OSX?
@markmark
I get your problem if I use an other vmx file. Use only the vmx file from above and change the value smc.present = “true” to “false” and use IntelVT-x under cpu settings.
my problem withe the Preview app and ilive and iwork apps is still there
Oystein, mac can’t natively write to NTFS volumes, but there are apps out there that will let you, google “ntfs mac”.
Another option is dropbox, which will sync your files locally over the network and provide you online storage (2gb Free).
@MXQ
I’ve the same problem with preview, ilive and iworks apps…… any news???
thx
orlroc
No, I think there is no solution, yet
read here:
http://www.insanelymac.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=172474&st=1420&p=1466790&#entry1466790
Hi, I’ve successfully installed OSX 10.6 to VMWare Workstation 7.0.1 and then updated to 10.6.1, 10.6.2 and 10.6.3 (individual single updates are recommended by a comment somewhere). I also changed the resolution in the boot.plist file as per instructions above.
I am now encountering an issue after installing VMTools (installed from the darwin.iso from the install of ‘VMware Fusion 3.1.0-254806 Light’ ).
Prior to VMTools, it Snow Leopard would boot & run fine– now when I boot-up the graphics are whack: top-half of the screen is the OSX desktop, but it looks “heavily interlaced”, the bottom half is still the grey OSX boot-up screen with a frozen ‘ajaxy loading wheel-thing’, and the system is unresponsive.
Is there a VMWare setting somewhere that needs to be fixed/changed? (I assuming this is just a graphics-driver related problem?)
Thanks,
E
Update: I managed to get past the post-VMTools installation boot-up display problem by installing the VM7 Mac display drivers BEFORE VMTools (contrary to what @asdasd indicates above).
I used the ones from ktext that @jack provides the link to above. I then installed VMTools from the VMFusion 3.1.0-254806 darwin.iso — all appears to be working fine.
Note: I noticed the greatest performance increase just by installing the display drivers. I haven’t noticed any further increase from installing VMTools (though I can copy & paste between the Win7 & OSX now)
“x32 is the refresh rate”. Wow sad… kids these days. Thats a 32 bit color depth.
right i got every thing to work except the one thing which i installed the mac on my pc for; final cut, i need to make a video and frankly, windows movie maker doesnt quite make the cut. When i run final cut express 4 the mac thinks that i have 0MB of VRAM when ive already made the adjustments to the vmx files so that there is 128MB of VRAM any soloutions to this problem? thanks very much, also A+ for the tutorial that taught how to install Mac on PC top stuff!
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