The 17th edition of macOS, called Big Sur, was released by Apple in 2020. After two years, Apple still maintains and updates the operating system, with the most recent version being 11.6.8, which was published on July 20, 2022. With macOS Virtual Machine, you might want to install newer versions of macOS, but there are occasions when older versions are more reliable and operate faster, especially when running macOS in VirtualBox. We will learn how to install macOS Big Sur on VirtualBox in this guide, with a focus on using the most recent version 11.6.8.
Let's first take a closer look at what exactly is VirtualBox before setting up Big Sur on a virtual machine. VirtualBox is free virtual machine software. On Mac and Windows devices, it is frequently used to install multiple operating systems. Because Mac operating systems are natively supported by VirtualBox, using it to install macOS Big Sur to VirtualBox is easier than installing it directly on your PC.
The Mac operating system may be installed on a virtual computer, but there are disadvantages as well. These shortcomings include the virtual machine's restricted ability to handle just simple integration standards like OpenGL and its lack of support for a graphics card. The performance of the virtual drive could be slower as a result of its poor support, which is still another drawback. You can use a tool known as Guest Tool to resolve these issues. Guest Tool is the primary tool for installing kext files (drivers) for hard drives, mouses, and keyboards, as well as adjusting the resolution.
Your laptop or PC has to support AMD-v and Intel VT-x in order to run macOS on VirtualBox. New Intel machines support the VT-x feature. Enabling it in the BIOS menu is all that is required. Go to Task Manager > Performance > CPU tab and check the bottom right corner to see whether Virtualization is enabled to see if it has already been activated. If not, you can use the following instructions to enable this functionality.
How to Install macOS Big Sur on VirtualBox on Windows PC
There are several ways to install macOS Big Sur to VirtualBox, but in this guide, we'll discover a brand-new, straightforward method for setting up the most recent version on your Windows machine. The BaseSystem image will be used to set up the operating system on VirtualBox. With it, we can quickly install macOS using VirtualBox's Internet Recovery mode, which is part of the BaseSystem.
1. Download Big Sur BaseSystem
Using the Python programming language and the OpenCore tool, we can download the Big Sur operating system's underlying system files. Python is a programming language that we'll need to perform certain commands in order to obtain the base system files, and Open Core is a tool that will assist us in downloading basesytem file on Windows PC.
First, you need to install Python and download OpenCore, then we will use Command Prompt to run python commands. Type "CMD" into the Windows search box and press ENTER to Open Command Prompt. Then use this commands to download Basesystem.dmg file:
Open Opencore-0.8.3 in Downloads folder:
cd %USERPROFILE%\Downloads\opencore-0.8.3-RELEASE\Utilities\macrecovery
Download Basesystem image:
macrecovery.py -b Mac-2BD1B31983FE1663 -m 00000000000000000 download
Next, move your Basesystem.dmg to Desktop.
2. Convert DMG to VDI image
We must first convert "BaseSystem.dmg" to IMG format before using VirtualBox to create a VDI file from it. The tool used to convert DMG files to IMG is known as dmg2img, and it is often used on Ubuntu or Linux. It is also compatible with Windows. After downloading it, run the following instructions to convert your DMG file:
Open dmg2img in Downloads folder
cd %USERPROFILE%\Downloads\dmg2img-1.6.7-win32
Convert DMG to IMG Image
dmg2img %USERPROFILE%\Desktop\BaseSystem.dmg %USERPROFILE%\Desktop\BaseSystem.img
Convert IMG to VDI image
cd "C:\Program Files\Oracle\VirtualBox\"
VBoxManage convertfromraw --format VDI %USERPROFILE%\Desktop\BaseSystem.img %USERPROFILE%\Desktop\BaseSystem.vdi
3. Create a New Virtual Machine
First, we must install VirtualBox, and then we must install the VirtualBox Extension Pack. With the help of this expansion pack, VirtualBox will support USB 3.0 ports, allowing you to utilize a mouse and keyboard with your virtual machine.
Open your VirtualBox and click on "New" button to create a Virtual Machine. Select Guest OS Version is macOS and set 70% of your RAM.
Next, click on Create a virtual hard disk now > VDI disk type > Dynamically allocated and select 120GB for Virtual disk. Then click on "Create" button
Next, select your virtual machine and click on "Settings" button. Go to System tab and set 80% of your CPU.
Go to Display tab and set 128 MB of vRAM and enable VMsvga graphics controller
Go to Storage tab, click on "Add" icon and open your BaseSystem.vdi image.
Go to USB tab and select "USB 3.0 Controller".
4. Change SMC in VirtualBox
To alter the SMC in VirtualBox, we must utilize Windows 'Command Prompt'. Simply type CMD into the Windows search box, right-click on CMD, and choose "Run as Admin" to launch it. Before we can change the SMC, we must first close VirtualBox and then run the following code:
cd "C:\Program Files\Oracle\VirtualBox\"
VBoxManage.exe modifyvm "Monterey" --cpuidset 00000001 000106e5 00100800 0098e3fd bfebfbff
VBoxManage setextradata "Monterey" "VBoxInternal/Devices/efi/0/Config/DmiSystemProduct" "MacBookPro11,3"
VBoxManage setextradata "Monterey" "VBoxInternal/Devices/efi/0/Config/DmiSystemVersion" "1.0"
VBoxManage setextradata "Monterey" "VBoxInternal/Devices/efi/0/Config/DmiBoardProduct" "Mac-2BD1B31983FE1663"
VBoxManage setextradata "Monterey" "VBoxInternal/Devices/efi/0/Config/DmiSystemSerial" "CK1156I6DB6"
VBoxManage setextradata "Monterey" "VBoxInternal/Devices/smc/0/Config/DeviceKey" "ourhardworkbythesewordsguardedpleasedontsteal(c)AppleComputerInc"
VBoxManage setextradata "Monterey" "VBoxInternal/Devices/smc/0/Config/GetKeyFromRealSMC" 0
5. Install macOS Big Sur on your Virtual Machine
You need to be connected to the Internet in order to download the Big Sur installer if you want to use the Base System image. Depending on your internet speed, MacOS Big Sur takes up about 12.5GB of space during the download process. The operating system download will take 15 to 45 minutes.
Your virtual computer will boot into Recovery mode when you turn it on. Launch Disk Utility next. We'll use the Disk Utility program to create a macOS virtual disk on which to install Big Sur. Make sure that the APFS partition is formatted on the new disk. Select VBOX Hard Disk and click on "Erase" button to create a new partition.
After completing this, close Disk Utility and select "Reinstall macOS Big Sur" in the Recovery mode. Automatic download of the most recent macOS Big Sur installer will commence for the virtual machine, and once roughly 12.5 GB have been downloaded, VirtualBox will start installing macOS.
Check the macOS installation's progress in Windows Task Manager by looking at the SSD speed and Wi-Fi. You may install the Guest Tool and change the resolution after installing macOS Big Sur on VirtualBox to speed up and improve the operating system.
Please feel free to post a comment below with any issues you have when installing, and we will assist you.
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