VirtualBox 7.0.6: Cannot boot from Ventura 13.3.1 ISO on Intel iMac

[crunchypistachio]

I'm new to VirtualBox (but not VMware Fusion and Parallels)...

I've installed the latest VirtualBox version (v7.0.6) on my 2017 Intel iMac, and am trying to get the latest version of MacOS installed and working on a new VM.
I've been struggling with this for several days, and finally gave up.

I created a bootable ISO of macOS Ventura 13.3.1 and new VirtualBox VM using the following article as guidance:
www . macobserver . com/tips/how-to/install-macos-virtual-machine/

My bootable "Ventura.iso" mounts normally via Mac OS Finder and works great.

But no matter what I try, I cannot get the VM to boot from the mounted .iso file which is mounted on "SATA Port 1: [Optical Drive] Ventura.iso":

error.jpeg (117.61 KiB) Viewed 13532 times

I've tried creating new VMs, using different MacOS version assignments, disabling audio, etc.

I'll attach an anonymized VM log file showing an attempted bootup, toward the end of the log file you'll see the failure errors booting to the ISO:
00:00:07.469925 VMMDev: Guest Log: BIOS: Boot : bseqnr=1, bootseq=0023
00:00:07.472659 VMMDev: Guest Log: BIOS: CDROM boot failure code : 0005
00:00:07.472812 VMMDev: Guest Log: BIOS: Boot from CD-ROM failed
00:00:07.473006 VMMDev: Guest Log: BIOS: Boot : bseqnr=2, bootseq=0002
00:00:07.473514 VMMDev: Guest Log: BIOS: Boot from Hard Disk 0 failed
00:00:07.474749 VMMDev: Guest Log: BIOS: No bootable medium found!
00:00:07.476710 VMMDev: Guest Log: BIOS: Please insert a bootable medium and reboot.
00:00:07.476974 VMMDev: Guest Log: BIOS: Boot : bseqnr=3, bootseq=0000
00:00:07.477170 VMMDev: Guest Log: BIOS: Boot : bseqnr=4, bootseq=0000
00:00:07.477293 VMMDev: Guest Log: BIOS: INT18: BOOT FAILURE
00:00:07.477305 PcBios: Boot failure
00:00:07.477310 VM: Raising runtime error 'VMBootFail' (fFlags=0x0)
00:00:07.477315 Console: VM runtime error: fatal=false, errorID=VMBootFail message="The VM failed to boot. This is possibly caused by not having an operating system installed or a misconfigured boot order. Maybe picking a guest OS install DVD will resolve the situation"


Any help is greatly appreciated!

[granada29]

I just worked through this, booted successfully from the ISO, formatted the virtual disk and now waiting for the install to complete. My host is running macOS 13.2.1 because of problems 13.3 and later.

VirtualBox 6.0.6 has known issues with the host macOS 13.3 or later. These are being addressed and hopefully fixed in VirtualBox 7.0.8

I am also unaware of anyone actually getting Ventura to run as a VirtualBox guest. Lots of sites say it can be done, but they look like copy/pastes from their Monterey instructions and never actually tested. YMMV.

I am thinking your 'Install macOS Ventura' application may not be a complete install. I used the MrMacintosh site to download the 13.3.1 installer, and as I said above, it is working as expected.

I made a shell script from the commands given at the site you quoted and the ISO generation completed, making a file that is Size: 16,777,216,000 bytes (13.19 GB on disk)

[fth0]

VirtualBox 6.0.6 7.0.6 has known issues with the host macOS 13.3 or later. These are being addressed and hopefully fixed in VirtualBox 7.0.8

Just in case it's not obvious (see correction in quote above).

[crunchypistachio]

@grananda29:
My Ventura .iso is actually known good, because I successfully used it to install a new Ventura 13.3.1 vm in VMware Fusion. (I'm wanting to quit VMWare Fusion because I'm tired of paying up every year).
So I'm guessing your test worked successfully just because your host is still running the older macOS 13.2.1.
Good idea on the script, I've saved that for using next time!

You're correct, I also needed to increase the size to 13550 MB from the referenced website article...which as you've mentioned is "a good indication it's a copy/paste from their Monterey instructions and never actually tested".
"sudo hdiutil create -o /tmp/Ventura -size 13550m -volname Ventura -layout SPUD -fs HFS+J"


Many thanks to both of you for clarifying, it's clear then that I need to wait for VirtualBox 7.0.8 and try again.

[crunchypistachio]

So now that the new version has been released, I'm testing this again...

I've installed the following new releases:
Virtual Box 7.0.8 r156879 (Qt5.15.2)
Extension Pack 7.0.8r156879

The good news is that the VM is now booting normally from the Ventura ISO when starting up!
The bad news is that after starting the VM, it works normally but the performance is extremely sluggish or slow.

The VM is assigned 12 GB RAM, 4 Processors, 128 MB Video Memory.
It takes over 25 minutes to boot (black/white text scrolling by on the display) until the MacOS installer is finally loaded, and then I was able to install MacOS but it took a reallllllllly long time (6 plus hours).

I also tried disabling the PAE/NX extended processor feature, which did not help.

Any clues why the VM performance is so insanely sluggish??

[granada29]

This sounds very similar to what is happening with Linux VMs under VirtualBox 7.0.8/macOS 13.3+

I filed a bug report for Linux VMs at https://www.virtualbox.org/ticket/21596
You could add your experience to that ticket, or open a new ticket. No word from the developers yet but hopefully we'll see a solution soon.

EDIT: I just tried a High Sierra VM with VirtualBox 7.0.8/macos 13.3.1 and the symptoms are indeed identical to what I see with Linux VMs.

[crunchypistachio]

Ahaha, your bug description is accurate for what I'm seeing too (very slow display update and display scrolling), so I think mine is the same issue as well.

I'm guessing the suggested testbuild 7.0.x r157071 would fix this then.
Unfortunately I'm not in a position to disable SIP on my iMac (req for running testbuilds), so I'll hafta wait for a new release and then test again.

[multiOS]

You don't need to disable SIP when installing VirtualBox 7.0.x Test Builds, as they don't need to install Kexts and so no security permissions workarounds are necessary.

[fth0]

I'm not in a position to disable SIP on my iMac (req for running testbuilds)

VirtualBox 7.0.x test builds don't have any kernel extensions, so I think it's not necessary to disable SIP any more.

[crunchypistachio]

Ok thanks for the clarification that disabling SIP isn't required.

I've installed the following test build:
Virtual Box 7.0.9 r157071 (Qt5.15.2) on MacOS 13.3.1 (a)
Extension Pack 7.0.8r156879

The slowness and laggy scrolling/mouse response is much improved, but installing a new Ventura VM still takes 3-4 hours, and when the MacOS installer finally gets to toward the end of the progress bar, it hangs on the "Less than a minute remaining.." message infinitely.
The installer never finishes or reboots the VM, and ultimately fails to work.

I tried installing both Ventura and Monterey...same results for both.

I'll post these results in the aforementioned bug report.