Run Catalina In Virtualbox



Simply download the image and start with installing macOS Catalina on VMware or Catalina on VirtualBox. But that doesn’t work always as it’s supposed to since Apple doesn’t support installing macOS on non-Apple hardware. After installing macOS Catalina, many ran into a problem when starting virtual machines in VirtualBox. This guide addresses the issue of running virtual machines on macOS 10.15 when using VirtualBox 6.0.12. To fix the problem, you need to open the terminal emulator on a computer with macOS Catalina installed and run the command.

Apple has recently made its latest macOS update i.e. macOS 10.15 official for the Mac users. The latest version of the macOS is called macOS Catalina. This is the 16th edition of Apple’s macOS which is by far the biggest update from the company. This update brings a lot of new features to Mac systems which is why it has become the best macOS update till date.

Steps to Install macOS Catalina on VirtualBox on Windows. Download macOS Catalina ISO; Install VirtualBox on Windows PC; Install & Update VirtualBox Extension; Create a New Virtual Machine & Customize it; Run VirtualBox Code via Command Prompt; Start the Virtual Machine; Create macOS Catalina Bootable Disk; Perform a Clean Installation of macOS Catalina; Summary. Install MacOS Catalina on Virtualbox; Install MacOS Mojave on Virtualbox; Download MacOS High Sierra dmg File (From App Store) If you are running MacOS High Sierra 10.13.5 and you want to upgrade to High Sierra 10.13.6 then you will need to download the dmg file and you can do it from App Store.

Apple first announced the Catalina update during the World Wide Developers Conference 2019 which is finally available for the public. Apple had released the developers’ version of this macOS as well. After receiving positive feedback from the testers and developers, the giant decided to come up with the stable public version.

The new macOS update brings a lot of improvements to the overall performance of the system including a bunch of new and advanced features to have a different experience of working on your years older system. It lets you connect your existing system with an external screen or you can even connect your iPad to the system with the new functionality introduced with the Catalina update.

If you are amazed to see the bunch of new features of the new macOS Catalina update, but feeling upset for not having a Mac system, then you don’t have to worry about it. You can even install macOS 10.15 Catalina on a Windows PC with VirtualBox. Yes, it is quite easy and you can have the same feeling of using a mac system on your Windows PC.

To help you out with this, we have prepared a detailed installation guide for you. The following installation guide will provide all the necessary instructions that you have to follow to install macOS Catalina on a Windows system.

We will guide you through the process by providing step by step guidelines so that even a non-technical person can also install this latest macOS on his respective Windows PC system.

Without further ado, let’s get on to the installation guide now!

Table of Contents - Article Hierarchy
  • Step 1: Download Required System Files and Software
  • Final Words:

    • Step 1: Download Required System Files and Software

    Before we jump on to the installation process of the new macOS, there are a few software and files you need to download and configure in your Windows PC. The following files and software need to be downloaded first. So, the first thing you need to do is downloading all the required files on a Windows PC.

    1. Virtual Box

    Virtual Box is an Open Source platform which is also known as Virtualization program. This program supports all types of guests operating system. You can run a different Operating System on a different environment using this software.

    To install macOS Catalina, you must download the latest version of the VirtualBox software on your Windows PC. The purpose of this software is to create a Virtual Machine on an existing system where you can run Linux, Mac and other Operating Systems separately.

    With the same software, you can run two different Operating Systems simultaneously on a single PC system. You can run Windows 10 and macOS on a single Windows PC as well and can share files between these two systems just like you are using two separate PCs. You can download the latest version of VirtualBox software from the below-given link.

    2. VirtualBox Extension Pack

    VirtualBox Extension Pack is a support software for VirtualBox. It’s a package of useful tools provided by Oracle to fix the issues of VirtualBox while using on a respective system. This extension pack is highly useful while using the mouse or keyboard of the new system.

    There were many users who have been facing mouse and keypad related issues with the VirtualBox. To fix such issues, they have designed a new package with all the tools. So you have to download the VirtualBox Extension Pack along with the VirtualBox’s setup. You can get it from the below link.

    3. macOS 10.15 Catalina ISO Image

    Just like any other PC system, you need to have an ISO image of the respective Operating System to install on a new machine. If you want to install the Catalina update on your Windows PC, then you must get a copy of macOS 10.15 Catalina ISO Image.

    Fortunately, there are hundreds of sources available online to get an ISO Image file of the macOS Catalina update. However, they do not guarantee to work with the VirtualBox machine. For that, we would like you to create your own ISO Image of the update.

    If you do not know how to create an ISO Image, then we will guide you to prepare it on your own in this article in the next part. Keep on reading!

    WinRar Software

    Most PC users have this software installed as it is very useful and an essential tool to compress and unzip the .zip extension files. You can get the latest version of this software from its official website or from any known source online.

    These much things are required in order to install macOS 10.15 Catalina on a Windows PC. Since you are a beginner and don’t know about creating an ISO Image of the Catalina update, then here we have prepared a detailed step by step tutorial to help you create it.

    Step 2: How to Create macOS 10.15 Catalina ISO Image?

    Step 1: Download macOS Catalina from App Store

    Apple has made the macOS 10.15 Catalina update official for everyone. You can easily get it installed or downloaded on a respective mac system from the official App Store.

    To check for the new update, go ahead and click the Apple icon from the upper left side and select Check for the Software update. The system will check for the new update, soon it will pop up a message saying a new Catalina update is ready for your system.

    You would be asked to upgrade your system by clicking on to the upgrade now button. Click on to the given button and the downloading process of the setup file will begin. The update weighs more than 8 GB, make sure you have a high-speed Internet connection.

    Wait for the download process to finish. Soon, the update will be downloaded and the setup file of the update will rest in the Applications folder. Do not upgrade your system if you do not wish to. We are just creating an ISO Image of the Catalina update so you don’t need to upgrade your system now!

    Step 2:

    Now, go to the Applications folder where you could see the Catalina update’s setup file.

    Step 3:

    Select the Catalina Setup icon and right click on it. From the given menu, select Show Package Contents.

    Step 4:

    You would be presented with all the contents associated with the update. You need to go to Resources and find createinstallmedia file from the contents page.

    Step 5:

    Keep everything as it is for now. Launch Terminal Window from the Applications folder. Go to Applications and then Select Utilities to launch Terminal Window.

    Step 6:

    Type sudo and then space bar, come back to the Contents window and drag and drop the createinstallmedia file to the Terminal window. The Terminal Window will show you the texts of the file.

    Step 7.

    Once you see the texts of the media file, type in volume and spacebar. This will show you a full string with “sudo [auto-populated string] –volume “

    Step 8:

    Now, insert a USB Flash drive to your system. Make sure the flash drive has at least 12 GB of free space.

    Step 9:

    Go to the Finder window and locate the flash drive. Drag and drop the flash drive to the Terminal Window. You can now pre-populate it using the command window.

    Step 10:

    Press return key and from your keyboard, you will be asked to enter the password for the machine. After that, press Y and again press Return to continue with the process.

    The Terminal Window will show you the process of erasing or formatting the selected drive. The system will start copying the data of macOS Catalina to the flash drive. It will take some time to finish. The bootable drive saves the file of Catalina macOS with.ISO file i.e. ISO Image.

    That’s all you have to do to create an ISO Image of macOS 10.15 Catalina update. You can now use this ISO image to install this update on your Mac system or on a Windows system with the help of VirtualBox.

    Step 3: Install VirtualBox and VirtualBox Extension Pack

    The next thing you need to do is installing the required software on your Windows system. Make sure you are installing the latest version of the respective software so that you can avoid potential errors and bug related issues during the process.

    Go to the Downloaded file of VirtualBox. Double click on to it and unzip the file. Setup file will be there, you need to double click on to the Setup file to start the installation process.

    Click on to the Next button to proceed further with the installation process.

    After that, you need to follow the same process to install the VirtualBox Extension Pack to your system. Follow the same thing, unzip the folder, double click the setup file and install the package.

    Step 4: Create a Virtual Machine

    We are almost ready to install the new macOS on a Windows system. We have the ISO image ready and the required software ready to handle the installation process.

    To install the ISO Image, we have to create a new Virtual Machine within your Windows system. The following steps will show you how you can create a new Virtual Machine.

    Step 1:

    Go to the Start menu and search for the Virtual Machine software. Click on to the icon and launch the software on your system.

    Step 2:

    Now, go to the top of the VirtualBox window and select the New button. This will open up an instructional window or wizard that will help you create a new Virtual Machine.

    Step 3:

    The Wizard will ask you to add some details about the new Virtual Machine. Make sure to enter the following details when asked by the system.

    Create a Virtual Machine

    • Name: macOS Catalina
    • Machine Folder:
    • Type: macOS
    • Version: macOS 10.13 High Sierra
    • RAM: 4GB (Even if your system has 8GB of RAM, set it to 4GB)

    Step 4:

    Now, the next step will ask you which drive you would like to use to create a new Virtual Machine. You will be presented with three options in the Hard Disk Window.

    Run Mac Os Catalina In Virtualbox

    Make sure you select the second option i.e. Create a Virtual hard disk now. While creating a new hard disk for this new virtual machine, make sure you set the storage to 100GB.

    Step 5:

    Also, locate the file of the Catalina os. Browse the “macOS 10.15 Catalina.vmdk” file and then click Create option.

    Now, the next step is to edit the existing settings of the VirtualBox.

    Step 5: Change VirtualBox Settings

    We have created a new Virtual Machine. The new machine needs to match up with the system requirements of macOS Catalina. For that, you have to change some settings into the VirtualBox.

    To do so, go to the Settings section and then select System from the left sidebar. System Window will show you three Sections from which you need to select Motherboard option.

    From here, you need to tick the box with Enable EFI and from the Chipset select PIIX3. You can follow the image to understand it better. Click the Ok button after that.

    After this, click the Processor section and increase the amount of core to 2. Also, tick the ‘Enable PAE/NX’ option and then click the Ok button.

    Now, select Display option from the left sidebar. Select the Screen tab and set the video memory to 128MB and Graphics controller VMSVGA. These are the ideal requirements to run the Catalina update. Click Ok button.

    After this, select USB option from the left sidebar and then tick mark the USB 3.0 controller. Click Ok button after that.

    That’s all about the required Settings to run Catalina macOS update on the newly created Virtual Machine. Make sure you follow all the instructions well and have made all the given changes to the Virtual Machine.

    Step 6: Adding of an ISO Image

    Now, select Storage option from the left sidebar of the VirtualBox window. Click on to the icon CD/ DVD and locate the Catalina.iso image. Click Ok button. This will load the iso image of Catalina to the new Virtual Machine.

    In the same Storage window, you will see Add Virtual Storage Disk button. You will be given three options there from which you need to select Choose existing disk. This is the same disk of the Catalina.iso image.

    Run Catalina In Virtualbox

    You will see a new disk named with VirtualBox Boot.vmdk under the Catalina.iso disk. Click Ok button.

    Step 7: Adding of Extra Codes

    Now, to finish the process you need to add some extra codes using the Command Prompt Window of the Windows system. Close down Virtual box and then start following these steps.

    Go to the Start menu and type in CMD and press Enter key. This will open Command Prompt Window on your computer screen. Make sure you launch it with Run as Administrator. You can right click on to the option to select this feature.

    Follow below given commands and enter them or copy-paste them to the command prompt window. Make sure you change or edit the VMname from these commands lines to your system name.

  • cd “C:Program FilesOracleVirtualBox”
  • VBoxManage.exe modifyvm “Your VM Name” –cpuidset 00000001 000106e5 00100800 0098e3fd bfebfbff
  • VBoxManage setextradata “Your VM Name” “VBoxInternal/Devices/efi/0/Config/DmiSystemProduct” “iMac11,3”
  • VBoxManage setextradata “Your VM Name” “VBoxInternal/Devices/efi/0/Config/DmiSystemVersion” “1.0”

    • Run Mac Os Catalina In Virtualbox

  • VBoxManage setextradata “Your VM Name” “VBoxInternal/Devices/efi/0/Config/DmiBoardProduct” “Iloveapple”
  • VBoxManage setextradata “Your VM Name” “VBoxInternal/Devices/smc/0/Config/DeviceKey” “ourhardworkbythesewordsguardedpleasedontsteal(c)AppleComputerInc”
  • VBoxManage setextradata “Your VM Name” “VBoxInternal/Devices/smc/0/Config/GetKeyFromRealSMC” 1

    • Step 8: Installing macOS Catalina on a Windows PC

    Relaunch Virtual Box and click on to the Start button which is at the left corner. By clicking on to the Start button, the VirtualBox will enable the newly created Virtual Machine.

    You would be presented with the macOS Utilities menu from which you need to select the Disk Utility option. Select this option and then click the Continue button.

    From the Disk Utility Window, select VBOX Virtual Disk from the left sidebar and then change the Format to “Mac OS Extended (HFS)” from the drop-down menu.

    Now, you should be able to install Catalina update to the VirtualBox. The installation process will begin itself and you will have to wait for a few minutes.

    Once everything is done, your system will be rebooted. After that, launch Virtual Machine and select Storage option. Remove Catalina.iso from the Disk types.

    Now, you have to enter the Shell mode to start the new Operating System. Turn on the Virtual Machine and press the Esc button. A command prompt like window will be presented. You have to enter this command: “install.nsh” and then press the Enter button.

    After entering this command, your setup and installation of the new macOS Catalina update are done. Your system will ask for the reboot for once.

    Step 9: Run the macOS Catalina on a Windows system

    If you have followed all of the above given steps and guidelines correctly, you should be able to start using the mac system on a Windows PC. Go to the VirtualBox and launch the newly created Virtual Machine. Your system will be running on macOS now.

    Since we have installed a fresh copy of the macOS Catalina update, you will have to setup the new macOS first, just like you own a new Macbook or etc.

    Final Words:

    Installing a macOS 10.15 Catalina on a Windows PC is indeed a bit tough task. It requires some basic knowledge and useful sources to get the required software and guidelines. You are fortunate enough to get everything on one single page.

    Follow all the instructions, guidelines or steps and you should be able to run two different Operating Systems on a Single PC. If you have any queries or questions, you can drop them here in the comments section.

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    Windows, macOS – which one do you want to use today? On a traditional setup, you’re stuck with one or the other. But with virtual box, you actually have macOS on a Windows PC.

    It’s the freedom that computer users have enjoyed with Linux and other operating systems.

    But Apple has made it difficult to install their operating system on anything other than their own hardware. All of that is changing, and Virtual Box is responsible for it and the rise of the Hackintosh.

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    Note: A lot of people will be able to get a mac virtual machine one Windows running smoothly, but sound doesn’t seem to work well. That’s really not an issue because you’ll still be able to access all of your apps and software.

    I also recommend that you have access to a real Mac. You might be able to find some distributions of the High Sierra ISO online, but there is always a risk when downloading from an unofficial source. Instead, borrow a Mac from a friend, or use your own and download the High Sierra OS from the App Store.

    Run Catalina In Virtualbox Windows 7

    Check out our high sierra installation guide for hackintosh

    Everything You Need to Get Started with Installing macOS on VirtualBox

    Download mac os mountain lion iso. Before we go through the steps on how to install macOS on Virtual Box, let’s get everything together that you’ll need to get started.

    1. Open up your Mac
    2. Go to the App Store
    3. Type in “High Sierra”

    You’ll want to search for your desired operating system (we’ll be using High Sierra), and Download it.

    Note: You’ll need a decent computer to be able to run Virtual Box. Your computer will need to meet these minimum requirements:

    • Dual core processor
    • 4GB Ram or higher
    • 64-bit

    If your computer doesn’t meet these requirements, you won’t be able to run macOS properly. You’ll be able to download VirtualBox from the official website. I’m not going to go through the installation process, as the website will have all of the information you need to be able to install VirtualBox.

    I do recommend that you read all of the documentation and ask any questions that you have in the community section of the website.

    VirtualBox 6.0 was just released, so it’s definitely a great time to get started with your own macOS.

    Extract macOS Sierra

    Make sure you’ve downloaded High Sierra, and then you’ll want to run a few commands from your terminal . You’ll be able to open the terminal at: Applications > Utilities > Terminal. Once inside of the terminal, you’ll want to run the following commands:

    Go to your desktop and rename the file, removing the “.cdr” extension. You need this extension to read “.iso” for it to work properly.

    You’ve successfully created your own ISO file so that you can bootup your macOS.

    The next step is to copy the file over to your Windows machine (using a large USB drive seems to work best). This file will be mounted in your virtual machine later on in the article, so it’s very important that this step is completed successfully.

    Creating a mac Virtual Machine on Windows

    You’ll want to create a virtual machine, and this is really easy. You’ll open up VirtualBox and click New. You’ll want to have the following parameters selected or entered before clicking Next.

    • Name: High Sierra
    • Type: Mac OS X
    • Version: Mac OS X (64-bit)

    Pay attention when selecting the version because you may find that High Sierra is offered as a version when you go to install it. But if it’s not, you can just choose the settings I listed above and they should work fine.

    You’ll then be proceeding through all of the settings.

    When you come up to the RAM setting, you’ll want to be generous. VirtualBox requires a minimum of 4GB or RAM to run, but the more the better.

    Why?

    You’ll want to provide at least 4GB to your macOS, or 4096MB to be precise. A general rule of thumb is that if you can spare it, supply more RAM to your virtual machine. RAM will allow the operating system to put more information into memory and retrieve it faster.

    Run Catalina In Virtualbox Download

    For better overall performance, supply as much RAM as you can.

    The next steps are also important, and they’ll include:

    • Hard Disk: Choose the “Create a virtual hard disk now” setting.
      • Choose VDI when choosing the hard disk type.
      • Choose Fixed Size instead of Dynamic for added speed.
      • Set the size of the drive to at least 25GB.

    You’ll now have your virtual machine using the RAM and disk space properly, and you’ll have to work your way through a few screen prompts before having everything setup properly.

    Configuring Your VirtualBox to Run macOS High Sierra

    We’ve made a lot of progress so far, and now it’s time to configure your virtual machine properly. You’ll see in the main window of VirtualBox that “High Sierra” is listed. Click on this and then click on the “Settings” button.

    You’ll want to go to “System” and make sure that the following are unchecked on the Motherboard tab:

    • Floppy
    • Network

    Click on the Processor tab and make sure that you have 2 or more CPUs set for your virtual machine.

    The next few settings are rather simple:

    • Display: Video Memory with a minimum of 128MB
    • Storage: Click “Empty” and then click on the CD at the top right. Choose your High Sierra ISO file

    Now you’ll need to click “Ok,” and save all of the changes you’ve made. Close out your VirtualBox now.

    Apple is very strict on the system that their operating system runs on, so it’s very important that you do your best to configure your virtual machine in such a way that it tricks the installer to thinking you’re on a retail machine.

    We’ll now be going into the Windowscommand prompt.

    You’ll do this by:

    • Clicking the Start Menu
    • Typing “Command Prompt”
    • Right-clicking on the Command Prompt desktop app
    • Choosing Run as administrator

    It’s very important to follow all of the following command prompts exactly. Your goal is to run each command, one by one, hitting the Enter button and waiting for the command to complete successfully.

    Remember that VirtualBox needs to be closed before running these commands, or it won’t work properly.

    You have to make sure that the virtual machine is properly named “High Sierra” for this method to work. If not, you’ll be able to go back and make changes to the name to get everything to work properly.

    Once all of the commands are completed, and there are no errors, you’ll then be able to open up your VirtualBox and get macOS High Sierra installed properly on VirtualBox.

    It’s a long process, but we’re almost done with your installation.

    Running VirtualBox and the macOS Installer

    You’ve almost learned how to install macOS on VirtualBox entirely, and we’re on the home stretch. You’ll want to open up your VirtualBox and then click on your virtual machine that you set up earlier.

    Now, click “Start.”

    Virtualbox Catalina Iso

    There will be a lot of information displayed on the screen as everything starts running. I recommend stepping away from the machine and letting it run for a few minutes before coming back. Some errors can hang for 5 minutes or longer.

    If you’ve done everything properly, you can be confident that the installer will boot properly.

    You’ll eventually be presented with the option to pick a Language. If you’ve reached this point, you’re doing very well and are almost ready to run your macOS.

    The next steps can be followed:

    • Choose your desired language, and click
    • Click “Disk Utility” and then
    • Click “View” and then “Show All Devices.”
    • Click on your empty virtual drive that has been setup and click “Erase.”
    • Choose the following settings:
      • Name: Macintosh HD
      • Format: Mac OS Extended (Journaled)
      • Scheme: GUID Partition Map
    • Click “Erase” and close Disk Utility when the process is complete.
    • Click “Reinstall macOS.”
    • Click “Continue.”

    You’ll come up to one point where you’ll be asked to choose a hard drive, and you’ll want to select the Macintosh HD partition that you just created with the Disk Utility.

    We’ve successfully copied all of the files on the virtual machine, but we’re not done just yet.

    Exit your virtual machine and then go back to your virtual machine’s settings. You’ll need to change up your Storage settings. Click on your ISO for High Sierra in the “Storage Tree.” You’ll click that CD icon just like we did earlier and then choose “Remove Disk from Virtual Disk.”

    You need to do this to unlink the ISO from your virtual machine.

    Start up your virtual machine and you should come across a black screen with the EFI Internal Shell. You’ll want to look for FS1. If this is listed in yellow, click on the virtual machine and then type fs1: and hit the Enter button.

    You should be in the fs1 directory.

    Virtualbox Catalina Vm

    Type in the following commands:

    1. cd “macOS Install Data”
    2. cd “Locked Files”
    3. cd “Boot Files”

    Run Catalina On Virtualbox

    Now we’ll run the installer by running: boot.efi and hitting enter.

    If everything goes well, you’ll come across a graphical installer and will just have to work through the prompts. The virtual machine will reboot eventually and then you’ll need to go through the settings and the rest of the setup process.

    Soon enough, you’ll be right inside of macOS, where you’ll be able to start using your mac virtual machine on Windows.

    Having a virtualbox mac OS is the easiest method of using mac as and when you need it. In addition, using virtualbox is far less complicated than the dual boot hackintosh method we have looked at previously.