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How to Run macOS on Windows 10 in a Virtual

Machine
Unsure if you will get along with a Mac? Learn how to run macOS on Windows 10 with the help of
a virtual machine.
BY GAVIN PHILLIPS
PUBLISHED APR 15, 2020

Windows 10 is a great operating system. It has its quirks and annoyances, but which
operating system doesn't? Even if you're beholden to Microsoft and Windows 10, you can
still shop around.

What better way to do that than from the safe confines of your existing operating system
with a virtual machine? This way, you can run macOS on Windows, which is perfect when
you want to use Mac-only apps on Windows.

So, here's how you install macOS in a virtual machine on Windows, making a virtual
Hackintosh that lets you run Apple apps from your Windows machine.

What Files Do You Need to Create a macOS Virtual

Machine on Windows 10?
Before delving into the "how-to," you need to download and install the essential tools. The
tutorial details how to create macOS virtual machines using both Oracle VirtualBox
Manager (VirtualBox) and VMware Workstation Player (VMware Player).

Not sure which to use? Learn more about the differences between VirtualBox and VMware.

Download the latest version of VirtualBox. The tutorial uses VirtualBox 6.1.4
Download the latest version of VMware Player. The tutorial uses VMware Player 15.0.4

You need a copy of macOS, too. Catalina is the latest macOS version. You can find the
download links for macOS Catalina in the next section.

This tutorial will focus on installing macOS Catalina in a virtual machine running on Intel
hardware, using either VirtualBox or VMware Player.
Unfortunately, I do not have access to any AMD hardware, so I cannot provide a tutorial.

There is, however, the code snippet that anyone using an AMD system requires to boot a
macOS Catalina using VMware on AMD hardware.

The process to launch the macOS Catalina virtual machine is the same as the Intel version
but uses a slightly different code snippet. You can find the tutorial and the code snippet in
the section below.

Furthermore, you will find links to several AMD macOS Catalina, Mojave, and High Sierra
virtual machine tutorials, at the end of the article.

Download macOS Catalina Virtual Image

Use the download links below to download macOS Catalina for both VirtualBox and VMware.

If the Google Drive reaches its download limit while downloading the macOS Catalina Virtual
Machine image file, right-click the file and select Copy to create a copy in your own Google
Drive. You can then download the macOS Catalina virtual image from there.

You can also use the alternative link on Mediafire if the problem with Google Drive persists.

After the virtual image finishes downloading, right-click, and extract the file using your
favorite archive tool. For instance, right-click, then select 7-Zip > Extract to "macOS
Catalina."

Please note that these links may stop working from time to time. If that is the case, please
leave a comment, and I'll fix them as soon as possible.

Download: macOS Catalina Virtual Machine Image

(Alternatively, use this Mediafire mirror)

Download: VMware Player Patch Tool

How to Create a macOS Catalina Virtual Machine

with VirtualBox
Before creating the macOS virtual machine, you need to install the VirtualBox Extension
Pack. It includes fixes for USB 3.0 support, mouse and keyboard support, and other useful
VirtualBox patches.

Download: VirtualBox Extension Pack for Windows (Free)

Scroll down, select All supported platforms to download, then double-click to install.

Create the macOS Catalina Virtual Machine

Open VirtualBox. Select New. Type macOS.

VirtualBox will detect the OS as you type and will default to Mac OS X. You can leave this as
is.
Regarding the virtual machine name, make it something memorable yet easy to type. You'll
need to input this name in a series of commands, and it is frustrating to type a complicated
name multiple times!

Next, set the amount of RAM the macOS virtual machine can use. I would suggest a
minimum of 4GB, but the more you can give from the host system, the better your
experience will be.

Remember, you cannot assign more RAM than your system has available, and you need to
leave some memory available for the host operating system. Learn more about how much
RAM does a system need?

Now, you need to assign a hard disk, which is the virtual image downloaded previously.
Select Use an existing virtual hard disk file, then select the folder icon. Browse to the VMDK
file, then select Create.

Edit the macOS Catalina Virtual Machine Settings

Don't try and start your macOS Catalina virtual machine yet. Before firing the virtual machine
up, you need to make a few tweaks to the settings. Right-click your macOS virtual machine
and select Settings.

Under System, remove Floppy from the boot order. Ensure the Chipset is set to ICH9.
Select the Processor tab. Assign two processors. If you have a CPU with power to spare
(such as an Intel Core i7 or i9 with multiple extra cores), consider assigning more. However,
this isn't vital.

Make sure the Enable PAE/NX box is checked.

Under Display, set Video Memory to 128MB.

Now, under Storage, check the box alongside Use Host I/O Cache.

Finally, head to the USB tab and select USB 3.0, then press OK.

Use Command Prompt to Add Custom Code to VirtualBox

It still isn't quite time to fire up your macOS Catalina virtual machine. In its current
configuration, VirtualBox doesn't work with your macOS VMDK.

To get it up and running, you have to essentially patch VirtualBox before the macOS virtual
machine will function. To do this, you need to enter some code using the Command Prompt.
All the details are below.

Start by closing VirtualBox. The commands will not execute properly if VirtualBox or any of
its associated processes are running.

Once closed, press Windows Key + X, then select Command Prompt (Admin) from the
menu.

If your menu only shows the PowerShell option, type command into your Start menu search
bar. Then right-click the Best Match, and select Run as Administrator.

The following code works for VirtualBox 5.x and 6.x.

Use the following command to locate the Oracle VirtualBox directory:

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

Now, enter the following commands, one by one. Adjust the command to match the name of
your virtual machine. For instance, my virtual machine name is "

macoscat

." Here are the commands:

VBoxManage.exe modifyvm "macoscat" --cpuidset 00000001 000106e5 00100800 0098e3fd bfebfbff

VBoxManage setextradata "macoscat" "VBoxInternal/Devices/efi/0/Config/DmiSystemProduct" "iMac11,3"

VBoxManage setextradata "macoscat" "VBoxInternal/Devices/efi/0/Config/DmiSystemVersion" "1.0"

VBoxManage setextradata "macoscat" "VBoxInternal/Devices/efi/0/Config/DmiBoardProduct" "Iloveapple

 VBoxManage setextradata "macoscat" "VBoxInternal/Devices/smc/0/Config/DeviceKey" "ourhardworkbythe

VBoxManage setextradata "macoscat" "VBoxInternal/Devices/smc/0/Config/GetKeyFromRealSMC" 1

After the completion of the commands, and presuming you encountered no errors, close the
Command Prompt.

Boot Your macOS Mojave Virtual Machine

Reopen VirtualBox. Double-click your macOS virtual machine to start it. You will see a long
stream of text, followed by a gray screen.

The gray screen can take a moment or two to clear, but don't panic. Once the screen clears,
macOS Catalina will begin installing. When it resolves, you will arrive at the macOS
"Welcome" screen.
From here, you can set your macOS Mojave virtual machine up as you see fit.

Pro Tip: Take a snapshot of your virtual machine once it passes the gray screen. If anything
goes wrong down the line, you can return to the Welcome screen setup and start the
process again.

Once you complete the macOS setup, take another one so you can jump straight into your
macOS installation. Head to Machine > Take Snapshot, give your snapshot a name, and wait
for it to process.

How to Create a macOS Catalina Virtual Machine

Using VMware Workstation Player
Prefer VMware over VirtualBox? You can create a macOS Catalina virtual machine using
VMware that works exactly the same as VirtualBox. And, just as with VirtualBox, VMware
also requires patching before the macOS Catalina virtual machine will work.

This part of the tutorial works for Intel and AMD systems. AMD users must use the second
code snippet when editing the virtual machine VMX file. Read through the tutorial to see
what this means exactly.

Patch VMware Workstation Player

In the "macOS Catalina Virtual Image" section is the VMware Player Patch Tool. Before
commencing any further, download the patch tool.

Then, browse to the location you downloaded the patch tool to. Extract the contents of the
archive. This process works best when the folders are on the same drive (e.g., the VMware
root folder and extracted archive are both found on the C:\ drive).

Make sure VMware is completely closed. Now, in the patcher folder, right-click the win-
install command script and select Run as Administrator. The script will open a Command
Prompt window, and the patch-script will run.

Do pay attention. The script whizzes by, and you need to keep watch for any "File not
Found" messages.

The most common reason for a "file not found" or a "system cannot find the file specified"
message is installing VMware Workstation Player in a different location to the default folder,
and executing the patch from a different directory.

Once the patch completes, you can open VMware.

Create the macOS Catalina Virtual Machine with VMware

Select Create a New Virtual Machine. Choose I will install the operating system later.

Now, select Apple Mac OS X, and change the Version to macOS 10.14. If you don't see the
macOS options, it is because the patch didn't install correctly.
Next, you need to choose a name for your macOS Catalina virtual machine. Choose
something easy to remember, then copy the file path to somewhere handy---you're going to
need it to make some edits in a moment.

On the next screen, stick with the suggested maximum hard disk size, then select Store

virtual disk as a single file. Complete the virtual disk creation wizard, but do not start the
virtual machine just yet.

Edit the macOS Mojave Virtual Machine Settings

Before you can boot the virtual machine, you must edit the hardware specifications. Plus,
you need to tell VMware where to find the macOS VMDK.

From the main VMware screen, select your macOS Catalina virtual machine, then right-click,
and select Settings.

Like VirtualBox, bump the virtual machine memory up to at least 4GB. You can allocate more
if you have RAM to spare.

Under Processors, edit the number of available cores to 2.

Now, under Hard Disk (SATA), you need to remove the hard disk created earlier. Select
Remove and VMware will remove the disk automatically.

Now, select Add > Hard Disk > SATA (Recommended) > Use an existing disk. Browse to
the location of the macOS VMDK and select it.

Edit the macOS Catalina VMX File for Intel Hardware

This section is for Intel users and it involves the final set of edits you need to make before
switching your VMware macOS Catalina virtual machine on!

Close VMware. Head to the location you stored the macOS virtual machine. The default
location is:

C:\Users\YOURNAME\Documents\Virtual Machines\YOUR MAC OS X FOLDER

Browse to macOS.vmx, right-click, and select Open with…, select Notepad (or your
preferred text editor). Scroll to the bottom of the configuration file and add the following line:

smc.version = "0"

Save, then Exit.

You can now open VMware, select your macOS Mojave virtual machine, and fire it up!

Edit the macOS Catalina VMX File for AMD Hardware

This section is for AMD users. Like the above section, AMD users must also edit the VMX file
before proceeding. The AMD edit involves a few more lines than the Intel version, but you
can copy and paste the data into the file.

Close VMware. Head to the location you stored the macOS virtual machine. The default
location is:

C:\Users\YOURNAME\Documents\Virtual Machines\YOUR MAC OS X FOLDER

Browse to macOS.vmx, right-click, and select Open with…, select Notepad (or your
preferred text editor). Scroll to the bottom of the configuration file and add the following
lines:

smc.version = "0"

cpuid.0.eax = "0000:0000:0000:0000:0000:0000:0000:1011"
cpuid.0.ebx = "0111:0101:0110:1110:0110:0101:0100:0111"

cpuid.0.ecx = "0110:1100:0110:0101:0111:0100:0110:1110"

cpuid.0.edx = "0100:1001:0110:0101:0110:1110:0110:1001"
 cpuid.1.eax = "0000:0000:0000:0001:0000:0110:0111:0001"

cpuid.1.ebx = "0000:0010:0000:0001:0000:1000:0000:0000"

cpuid.1.ecx = "1000:0010:1001:1000:0010:0010:0000:0011"

cpuid.1.edx = "0000:1111:1010:1011:1111:1011:1111:1111"

Save, then Exit.

You can now open VMware, select your macOS Mojave virtual machine, and fire it up!
Install VMware Tools to Your macOS Catalina Virtual Machine

You now need to install VMware Tools, which is a set of utilities and extensions that improve
mouse handling, video performance, and other useful things.

With the macOS virtual machine running, head to Player > Manage > Install VMware Tools.

The installation digavsc will appear on the macOS desktop. When the option appears, select
Install VMware Tools, then allow it access to the removable volume. Follow the guided
installer, which will require a restart on completion.

Troubleshooting

There are a couple of things that can go wrong during the macOS virtual machine installation
in VMware Player Workstation.

 If you cannot see "Apple Mac OS X" during the virtual machine creation wizard, then you
need to revisit the patch process. Ensure every process associated with VMware Player
is off.
 If you receive the message "Mac OS X is not supported with binary translation" when
starting the virtual machine, there is a strong chance you need to activate virtualization
in your BIOS/UEFI configuration.
 If you receive the message "VMware Player unrecoverable error: (vcpu-0)" when starting
the virtual machine, you need to head back to the macOS.vmx configuration file to
ensure you added the extra line and saved the edit.
 If you're running AMD hardware and get stuck at the Apple logo, first power off the
virtual machine. Now, head to Settings > Options > General. Change the Guest
operating system to Microsoft Windows, and the Version to Windows 10 x64. Press
OK, then attempt to power up the virtual machine again. Once the Apple logo passes,
power down the virtual machine, then set the Guest operating system option back to
Apple Mac OS X, selecting the correct version.

Attempting to Enable Virtualization On My Computer

macOS Virtual Machines for AMD Hardware
Apple uses Intel hardware to power desktops and laptops. Configuring a macOS virtual
machine using Intel hardware is easier because the hardware specifications are very similar.

With AMD, the opposite is true. Because Apple does not develop macOS on AMD hardware,
creating a macOS virtual machine on an AMD system is trickier.

Adding to this, I don't have an AMD system to test macOS virtual machines on, so I cannot
give you a detailed tutorial. I can, however, point you in the direction of several macOS AMD
virtual machine tutorials that do work, so long as you are patient and follow each step
accordingly.

Mojave AMD Vanilla Guide From Windows via AMD OS X

High Sierra 10.13.1 VM for VMware Player for Ryzen/FX/APU via AMD OS X
Mojave AMD VirtualBox via AMD OS X

The AMD OS X forum is a great resource for macOS virtual machines. You can find many
more forum threads regarding AMD macOS virtual machines, too.

macOS Catalina Virtual Machine Installation

Complete
You have two options to choose from for your macOS Catalina virtual machine. Both options
are great if you want to give macOS a try before making the switch from Windows and enjoy
some of the best Apple apps on offer.

You can use a virtual machine to test other operating systems too. For instance, here's how
to install a Linux distro in a virtual machine.

Are you looking to learn more about virtual machines?

Check out our VirtualBox User's Guide, which teaches everything you need to know, or our
guide to creating a virtual machine using Windows 10 Hyper-V.

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