Re: Mac OS X guest
Posted: 27. Feb 2010, 06:52
Hi. I thought I'd share my experience getting MacOS running as a guest OS. My host OS is Ubuntu Karmic with VirtualBox 3.1.4. My system is a 2GHz Core2 Quad laptop.
I initially configured VirtalBox as indicated above: FreeBSD 64-bit, IO APIC, 2 CPUs, 982MB RAM, ICH6 HD controller, PAE, VT-x, nested paging, and the undocumented SupportExtHwProfile flag. I attempted to boot iATKOS 7, which is based on MacOS 10.5.7, from an ISO image. With the given configuration, the installer got a kernel panic during boot: "simple lock deadlock detection." After some experimentation, I found that the installer will boot only if I give it exactly one CPU.
Once I got into the installer, some more experimentation was necessary. After the first install, it wouldn't boot until I manually installed the Chameleon2 bootloader from the Utilities menu. I also got a "commpage no match for last" panic until I selected the Voodoo9.5 kernel instead of the stock kernel. Finally, I loaded the ApplePS2 driver for mouse and keyboard.
And then it booted! I never thought I would see the day. And it's fast, too; much faster than under [competing virtual machine manager]. Some things are still broken, obviously. Video works, but only up 1024x768 and without Quartz Extreme (with means no Time Machine, among other things). No networking. No audio. Occasional crashes (e.g. when selecting About this Mac). Some of this brokenness might be remediable with some driver fiddling, but at this point I'm pleased just to have it running at this level.
MacOS is an operating system that continues to both disgust and fascinate me. While it represents much that I dislike both in design and philosophy, I'm glad that I have the opportunity to fiddle with it in a virtual environment, without letting it touch real hardware.
VirtualBox is a real gem. I only hope that the recent changes will not stand in the way of further progress of this great program.
If any of the VirtualBox developers happen to be in town, I will be happy to buy you a beer.
I initially configured VirtalBox as indicated above: FreeBSD 64-bit, IO APIC, 2 CPUs, 982MB RAM, ICH6 HD controller, PAE, VT-x, nested paging, and the undocumented SupportExtHwProfile flag. I attempted to boot iATKOS 7, which is based on MacOS 10.5.7, from an ISO image. With the given configuration, the installer got a kernel panic during boot: "simple lock deadlock detection." After some experimentation, I found that the installer will boot only if I give it exactly one CPU.
Once I got into the installer, some more experimentation was necessary. After the first install, it wouldn't boot until I manually installed the Chameleon2 bootloader from the Utilities menu. I also got a "commpage no match for last" panic until I selected the Voodoo9.5 kernel instead of the stock kernel. Finally, I loaded the ApplePS2 driver for mouse and keyboard.
And then it booted! I never thought I would see the day. And it's fast, too; much faster than under [competing virtual machine manager]. Some things are still broken, obviously. Video works, but only up 1024x768 and without Quartz Extreme (with means no Time Machine, among other things). No networking. No audio. Occasional crashes (e.g. when selecting About this Mac). Some of this brokenness might be remediable with some driver fiddling, but at this point I'm pleased just to have it running at this level.
MacOS is an operating system that continues to both disgust and fascinate me. While it represents much that I dislike both in design and philosophy, I'm glad that I have the opportunity to fiddle with it in a virtual environment, without letting it touch real hardware.
VirtualBox is a real gem. I only hope that the recent changes will not stand in the way of further progress of this great program.
If any of the VirtualBox developers happen to be in town, I will be happy to buy you a beer.