How to Install macOS High Sierra on VirtualBox?

Suppose you like the aesthetic look of macOS High Sierra or want to feel that smooth UI interaction, or want to use some app that is exclusively for Mac. However; you are unable to experience any of them at all, most probably you don’t have a Mac or you don’t want to purchase one.

This brings us to why virtualization is the right option for you; applications like VirtualBox can help you to create virtual machines, and use macOS on that virtual machine without replacing your native OS like Windows.

VirtualBox enables users to use another OS like Linux or macOS on a pre-existing OS like Windows. Although many apps can provide the same service, VirtualBox is one of the best and most recommended ones.

And this article will guide you through installing macOS High Sierra on a VirtualBox step by step. It might look easy but trust me, it can get tricky on specific points.

How to install macOS High Sierra on VirtualBox?

So, without further ado, let’s continue with the installation of the macOS High Sierra.

1: System Requirement for running macOS High Sierra on VB

Before installation, it is wise to check the system requirement to see if you have enough resources to run High Sierra on your pc or not. Please read this requirement thoroughly; after all, you don’t want to spend your time on something to realize it’s all in vain because your system doesn’t meet even the minimum requirement.

Minimum Requirement

For minimum, you will need 2 GB of RAM memory, 2 cores of the processor, and 20+ GB of free storage on your disk. Even if there is no need, still you will need 20+ GB after the installation of the VirtualBox as macOS can take up quite a space.

Recommended Requirements

It is recommended to have 8 GB of RAM memory, with 4 core processors in addition to 50+ GB of free storage on your hard disk.

Although it’s not essential, it’s suitable for your system to support Virtualization Technology (Intel or AMD VT).

Side Note: You have to enable VT (Virtualization Technology) to use it. You can do so by going into your system’s BIOS settings, and in the CPU configuration tab, find the setting for VT and enable it. Now save your settings and reboot your computer or click on the link below for details in depth:

Related Topic: How to Enable Virtualization in BIOS?

2: Prerequisites for installing macOS High Sierra

Now continue by downloading and installing the following.

Downloading macOS High Sierra ISO Image

If you want the latest version, which is 10.13.6, you can download it from the official Apple store or download it from us for free. I have provided the download button to download macOS High Sierra ISO Image for you. You can use it for the installation on any virtualization platform, or even for installing macOS on Mac or MacBook.

Download VirtualBox

Now I want to state the obvious one, which is to install VirtualBox on your system.

Download the Extension pack for VirtualBox

We are going to perform the installation of the Extension Pack at the end. For now, to give you an idea of why you need the extension pack, suppose you want to use VirtualBox with features like using all of your devices connected to your USB port, encrypting your data, or even moving your virtual machine. In that case, you have to install VirtualBox’s Extension pack, as it will provide all the features given above.

Download VirtualBox code for macOS High Sierra

VirtualBox code, or Vbox code, is a code for various guest devices that the VMM virtualizes, like audio, network, graphic card, hard disk, etc. We are going to leave this section for new, as we will continue the installation in the next sections.

3: Creating a new virtual machine

After the installation of VirtualBox, you will run it. Now the first thing is to create a new virtual machine.

Step 1: Open your VirtualBox and click on New. This will create a new Virtual machine for our macOS High Sierra.

Step 2: In the name section, type a name for your VM (virtual machine) like “macOS High Sierra”. You can leave Machine Folder as default or change it to anywhere you want (keep in mind this will be the folder where Windows will store all of your new OS data).

Choose Mac OS X from the drop-down in the Type section. And in the Version section, select macOS 10.13 High Sierra (64-bit) and then click on Next.

Step 3: In Memory size, choose an amount you will leave for your macOS. It is recommended to have at least 2 GB of memory. However; the more memory is given the smoother the performance will be.

Step 4: In the Hard disk window, click on the third option, Use an existing hard disk. Now click on the folder icon.

Step 5: Next, click on Add and navigate to your macOS High Sierra ISO Image file. Select it and click on Open.

Step 6: Now ensure your macOS High Sierra file is selected and click Choose.

Step 7: And here, we are back to our Hard disk window again. Click on Create.

4: Configure VirtualBox and fix errors

To run High Sierra smoothly and without any error, we will need to execute the vbox code. This is the same code that we talked about earlier. For this purpose, you will open CMD as administrator and paste the commands given. You will find CMD on the Start menu, right-click on it and select Run as administrator.

Note: Make sure to close your VirtualBox before running the code, or else the code won’t work at all.

cd "C:\Program Files\Oracle\VirtualBox\"
VBoxManage.exe modifyvm "VM Name" --cpuidset 00000001 000106e5 00100800 0098e3fd bfebfbff
VBoxManage setextradata "VM Name" "VBoxInternal/Devices/efi/0/Config/DmiSystemProduct" "iMac19,1"
VBoxManage setextradata "VM Name" "VBoxInternal/Devices/efi/0/Config/DmiSystemVersion" "1.0"
VBoxManage setextradata "VM Name" "VBoxInternal/Devices/efi/0/Config/DmiBoardProduct" "Mac-AA95B1DDAB278B95"
VBoxManage setextradata "VM Name" "VBoxInternal/Devices/smc/0/Config/DeviceKey" "ourhardworkbythesewordsguardedpleasedontsteal(c)AppleComputerInc"
VBoxManage setextradata "VM Name" "VBoxInternal/Devices/smc/0/Config/GetKeyFromRealSMC" 1

Note: Remember to change the “VM Name” name in the code according to your own. For example, we had set our VM’s name “High Sierra” in the second step of creating our new machine, so we will write “High Sierra” while entering our code, but if you have entered your VM’s name something else, then write that.

Once execution got complete, close your CMD. And now you are done with this part.

5: Installing macOS High Sierra on VirtualBox

Now that the vbox code has been executed, it’s time to install High Sierra itself.

Step 1: Open your VirtualBox, select the new machine we created, and click on Start. Now, wait until High Sierra installation windows open up.

Step 2: In the first window, select your Language and click on Continue.

Step 3: Next, select your Keyboard Layout or leave it as default if you don’t want any kind of change.

Step 4: You will be asked if you want to transfer your information to Mac; click on the third option, Don’t transfer any information now, and click on Continue.

Step 5: For the Sign-in option, select the Don’t sign in and click on Continue.

Step 6: Now, you will be asked to create an account for your OS. Fill out the boxes, and remember your Username and Password because you will need them for installing apps or changing any other settings.

Step 7: Select your Time zone and click on Continue.

Step 8: Leave everything as default and click on Continue.

Step 9: Enable Siri and Continue.

Step 10: At last, an Introduction dialogue box will pop up; click on Continue to close it.

And that’s it; now, you can use your latest version of macOS High Sierra. Before we say our goodbyes, you should know about the full-screen error on VirtualBox. You can’t full screen your VirtualBox after the installation, as you will need to enable that.

6: Fixing the Resolution problem on VirtualBox

To fix it, you will need to enable some options. So, here is how to do that.

Step 1: Run your Command prompt as administrator. You can go into the Start menu, search for ‘the command prompt, right-click on it and select Run as administrator.

Step 2: Then, we have to locate the default folder of VirtualBox. Therefore, enter the following command on CMD.

cd “C:\Program Files\Oracle\VirtualBox\”

Step 3: We have to tell the computer to let VirtualBox display on full screen. But first you have to know the resolution of your screen (i.e 1280×720 = 720p or 1920×1080 = 1080p).

We have to enter two codes; the first one will locate the VM that we created earlier (“High Sierra”) and then we will fix the resolution with the second code.

VBoxManage setextradata "HighSierra."
And the next one is about the screen resolution; replace the "x" value with your screen's resolution. Like "1280x720" or "1920x1080".
VBoxInternal2/EfiGraphicsResolution "x"

Paste the commands and press Enter. The system will execute the commands. Once the commands are executed, open the VirtualBox, boot your macOS High Sierra VM, and click on Full-Screen Mode from the View tab. We have a completed guide on fixing screen resolution here “How to Fix macOS Screen Resolution After OS Installation?”. Users have also experienced issues related to CPU parameters and here is “How to fix Invalid Virtual Box parameter –cpuidset?“

Conclusion

Today’s article talked about how we can install macOS High Sierra on a VirtualBox and make it run smoothly without any error. Although it was not impossible, it was tricky. Without skipping any steps, you will find that macOS is installed on your VirtualBox now.

For further information, you can contact us. If you have experienced any sort of error then you can comment down and I will get to you as soon as possible.