Macmini5,1 host: Serial Number: 0

Discussions about using Mac OS X guests (on Apple hardware) in VirtualBox.
ilg
Posts: 23
Joined: 27. Jan 2018, 15:11
Primary OS: Mac OS X other
VBox Version: OSE other
Guest OSses: Linux, macOS

Macmini5,1 host: Serial Number: 0

Post by ilg »

I'm experimenting with a Yosemite VM on a mac Mini; install was generally ok and I have a functional Yosemite, except the Serial Number is reported as 0, which, no surprise, prevents it to connect to iCloud.

Is this a feature or a (known) bug?

Attached is the showvminfo output.

Thank you,

Liviu

Code: Select all

ilg-mini-harlescu:~ ilg$ VBoxManage showvminfo "macOS 10.10 XBB"
Name:            macOS 10.10 XBB
Groups:          /
Guest OS:        Mac OS X (64-bit)
UUID:            61a18fd7-041f-4624-b0b2-8626ba057cdc
Config file:     /Users/ilg/VirtualBox VMs/macOS 10.10 XBB/macOS 10.10 XBB.vbox
Snapshot folder: /Users/ilg/VirtualBox VMs/macOS 10.10 XBB/Snapshots
Log folder:      /Users/ilg/VirtualBox VMs/macOS 10.10 XBB/Logs
Hardware UUID:   61a18fd7-041f-4624-b0b2-8626ba057cdc
Memory size:     10240MB
Page Fusion:     off
VRAM size:       64MB
CPU exec cap:    100%
HPET:            on
Chipset:         ich9
Firmware:        EFI
Number of CPUs:  2
PAE:             on
Long Mode:       on
Triple Fault Reset: off
APIC:            on
X2APIC:          off
CPUID Portability Level: 0
CPUID overrides: None
Boot menu mode:  message and menu
Boot Device (1): Floppy
Boot Device (2): DVD
Boot Device (3): HardDisk
Boot Device (4): Not Assigned
ACPI:            on
IOAPIC:          on
BIOS APIC mode:  APIC
Time offset:     0ms
RTC:             UTC
Hardw. virt.ext: on
Nested Paging:   on
Large Pages:     on
VT-x VPID:       on
VT-x unr. exec.: on
Paravirt. Provider: Default
Effective Paravirt. Provider: Minimal
State:           running (since 2018-02-02T16:02:09.729000000)
Monitor count:   1
3D Acceleration: off
2D Video Acceleration: off
Teleporter Enabled: off
Teleporter Port: 0
Teleporter Address: 
Teleporter Password: 
Tracing Enabled: off
Allow Tracing to Access VM: off
Tracing Configuration: 
Autostart Enabled: off
Autostart Delay: 0
Default Frontend: 
Storage Controller Name (0):            SATA
Storage Controller Type (0):            IntelAhci
Storage Controller Instance Number (0): 0
Storage Controller Max Port Count (0):  30
Storage Controller Port Count (0):      2
Storage Controller Bootable (0):        on
SATA (0, 0): /Users/ilg/VirtualBox VMs/macOS 10.10 XBB/Snapshots/{dd16a261-4a77-456b-9ccf-068d56d3ff82}.vdi (UUID: dd16a261-4a77-456b-9ccf-068d56d3ff82)
SATA (1, 0): Empty (ejected)
NIC 1:           MAC: 080027ADAF0D, Attachment: Bridged Interface 'en0: Ethernet', Cable connected: on, Trace: off (file: none), Type: 82545EM, Reported speed: 0 Mbps, Boot priority: 0, Promisc Policy: deny, Bandwidth group: none
NIC 2:           disabled
NIC 3:           disabled
NIC 4:           disabled
NIC 5:           disabled
NIC 6:           disabled
NIC 7:           disabled
NIC 8:           disabled
NIC 9:           disabled
NIC 10:           disabled
NIC 11:           disabled
NIC 12:           disabled
NIC 13:           disabled
NIC 14:           disabled
NIC 15:           disabled
NIC 16:           disabled
NIC 17:           disabled
NIC 18:           disabled
NIC 19:           disabled
NIC 20:           disabled
NIC 21:           disabled
NIC 22:           disabled
NIC 23:           disabled
NIC 24:           disabled
NIC 25:           disabled
NIC 26:           disabled
NIC 27:           disabled
NIC 28:           disabled
NIC 29:           disabled
NIC 30:           disabled
NIC 31:           disabled
NIC 32:           disabled
NIC 33:           disabled
NIC 34:           disabled
NIC 35:           disabled
NIC 36:           disabled
Pointing Device: USB Tablet
Keyboard Device: USB Keyboard
UART 1:          disabled
UART 2:          disabled
UART 3:          disabled
UART 4:          disabled
LPT 1:           disabled
LPT 2:           disabled
Audio:           enabled (Driver: CoreAudio, Controller: HDA, Codec: STAC9221)
Audio playback:  disabled
Audio capture: enabled
Clipboard Mode:  Bidirectional
Drag and drop Mode: Bidirectional
Session name:    GUI/Qt
Video mode:      1024x768x32 at 0,0 enabled
VRDE:            disabled
USB:             enabled
EHCI:            disabled
XHCI:            disabled

USB Device Filters:

<none>

Available remote USB devices:

<none>

Currently Attached USB Devices:

<none>

Bandwidth groups:  <none>

Shared folders:  <none>

VRDE Connection:    not active
Clients so far:     0

Capturing:          not active
Capture audio:      not active
Capture screens:    0
Capture file:       /Users/ilg/VirtualBox VMs/macOS 10.10 XBB/macOS 10.10 XBB.webm
Capture dimensions: 1024x768
Capture rate:       512 kbps
Capture FPS:        25
Capture options:    ac_enabled=false

Guest:

Configured memory balloon size:      0 MB
OS type:                             MacOS_64
Additions run level:                 0

Guest Facilities:

No active facilities.

Snapshots:

   Name: Snapshot 1 (UUID: 255db476-be2b-43a6-80ec-850877b89ed4)
   Description:
clean install
      Name: Snapshot 2 (UUID: b7abea56-4f9b-4b42-bae5-15e7dbea9c2e) *
      Description:
after updates & xcode

ilg-mini-harlescu:~ ilg$ 
socratis
Site Moderator
Posts: 27330
Joined: 22. Oct 2010, 11:03
Primary OS: Mac OS X other
VBox Version: PUEL
Guest OSses: Win(*>98), Linux*, OSX>10.5
Location: Greece

Re: Macmini5,1 host: Serial Number: 0

Post by socratis »

ilg wrote:Is this a feature or a (known) bug?
Neither. This feature is alive and kicking. See ch. 9.12 Configuring the BIOS DMI information:
  • VBoxManage setextradata "<YourVM>" "VBoxInternal/Devices/efi/0/Config/DmiSystemSerial" "<YourSerial>"
I'm not so sure I'd try to log into iCloud. BTW, if your VM is an OSX 10.10, you should declare it as an "OSX 10.10" in the template, not as a generic OSX one.
Do NOT send me Personal Messages (PMs) for troubleshooting, they are simply deleted.
Do NOT reply with the "QUOTE" button, please use the "POST REPLY", at the bottom of the form.
If you obfuscate any information requested, I will obfuscate my response. These are virtual UUIDs, not real ones.
ilg
Posts: 23
Joined: 27. Jan 2018, 15:11
Primary OS: Mac OS X other
VBox Version: OSE other
Guest OSses: Linux, macOS

Re: Macmini5,1 host: Serial Number: 0

Post by ilg »

Code: Select all

VBoxManage setextradata "<YourVM>" ...
Aha, so it must be set explicitly. Very flexible, but... I wonder if it is legal to set any serial number there...

I have a similar VM under Parallels, and there the serial number was retrieved automatically, no need for any explicit settings, (possibly it might not even be possible to set it). Would it be possible to do the same in VirtualBox?
you should declare it as an "OSX 10.10" in the template, not as a generic OSX one.
Can you be more specific where should I do this?

Thank you,

Liviu
socratis
Site Moderator
Posts: 27330
Joined: 22. Oct 2010, 11:03
Primary OS: Mac OS X other
VBox Version: PUEL
Guest OSses: Win(*>98), Linux*, OSX>10.5
Location: Greece

Re: Macmini5,1 host: Serial Number: 0

Post by socratis »

ilg wrote:I wonder if it is legal to set any serial number there...
Where exactly would you get a valid serial number? Legally?
ilg wrote:Would it be possible to do the same in VirtualBox?
Via the "VBoxManage" command only.
ilg wrote:Can you be more specific where should I do this?
VM Settings » General » Version.
Do NOT send me Personal Messages (PMs) for troubleshooting, they are simply deleted.
Do NOT reply with the "QUOTE" button, please use the "POST REPLY", at the bottom of the form.
If you obfuscate any information requested, I will obfuscate my response. These are virtual UUIDs, not real ones.
ilg
Posts: 23
Joined: 27. Jan 2018, 15:11
Primary OS: Mac OS X other
VBox Version: OSE other
Guest OSses: Linux, macOS

Re: Macmini5,1 host: Serial Number: 0, iCloud

Post by ilg »

I set both the OS Version and the 'DmiSystemSerial', I can see it in the System Report.

Unfortunately this is not enough to pass the identity check, and signing in to iCloud still fails.

Did anyone manage to configure all these variables to pass the identity check?
socratis
Site Moderator
Posts: 27330
Joined: 22. Oct 2010, 11:03
Primary OS: Mac OS X other
VBox Version: PUEL
Guest OSses: Win(*>98), Linux*, OSX>10.5
Location: Greece

Re: Macmini5,1 host: Serial Number: 0

Post by socratis »

I don't really know what Apple is looking for the iCloud signing in, maybe you should ask them (and no, it wouldn't be illegal). But if that includes the AppStore, it works fine over here, on all my OSX VMs.
Do NOT send me Personal Messages (PMs) for troubleshooting, they are simply deleted.
Do NOT reply with the "QUOTE" button, please use the "POST REPLY", at the bottom of the form.
If you obfuscate any information requested, I will obfuscate my response. These are virtual UUIDs, not real ones.
ilg
Posts: 23
Joined: 27. Jan 2018, 15:11
Primary OS: Mac OS X other
VBox Version: OSE other
Guest OSses: Linux, macOS

Re: Macmini5,1 host: Serial Number: 0

Post by ilg »

if that includes the AppStore, it works fine over here
I confirm, AppStore worked fine on my VM too, even before setting the serial number (to my surprise there were several updates for 10.10).
socratis
Site Moderator
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Joined: 22. Oct 2010, 11:03
Primary OS: Mac OS X other
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Location: Greece

Re: Macmini5,1 host: Serial Number: 0

Post by socratis »

Mind you, I'm not simply talking about software updates, I'm talking about logging on to the AppStore and downloading (let's say) the developer tools, or seeing your purchases.
Do NOT send me Personal Messages (PMs) for troubleshooting, they are simply deleted.
Do NOT reply with the "QUOTE" button, please use the "POST REPLY", at the bottom of the form.
If you obfuscate any information requested, I will obfuscate my response. These are virtual UUIDs, not real ones.
ilg
Posts: 23
Joined: 27. Jan 2018, 15:11
Primary OS: Mac OS X other
VBox Version: OSE other
Guest OSses: Linux, macOS

Re: Macmini5,1 host: Serial Number: 0

Post by ilg »

socratis wrote:... logging on to the AppStore ... the developer tools, or seeing your purchases.
Good point!

Yes, I confirm being able to login to AppStore, seeing my purchases and also to the Developer site and downloading Xcode 7.2.1 and the Command Line Tools for 7.2.

It looks like the serial number is enough for these sites, only for iCloud they require something else.

FYI, the Parallels macOS 10.10 VM was able to connect to iCloud without having to manually set any extra data.
socratis
Site Moderator
Posts: 27330
Joined: 22. Oct 2010, 11:03
Primary OS: Mac OS X other
VBox Version: PUEL
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Re: Macmini5,1 host: Serial Number: 0

Post by socratis »

ilg wrote:It looks like the serial number is enough for these sites, only for iCloud they require something else.
Or not at all. Simply signing in with your AppleID might be enough, no need to check anything else.
ilg wrote:FYI, the Parallels macOS 10.10 VM was able to connect to iCloud without having to manually set any extra data.
Good for them... We should ask them how they do it and offer the code changes ourselves ;)
Do NOT send me Personal Messages (PMs) for troubleshooting, they are simply deleted.
Do NOT reply with the "QUOTE" button, please use the "POST REPLY", at the bottom of the form.
If you obfuscate any information requested, I will obfuscate my response. These are virtual UUIDs, not real ones.
ilg
Posts: 23
Joined: 27. Jan 2018, 15:11
Primary OS: Mac OS X other
VBox Version: OSE other
Guest OSses: Linux, macOS

Re: Macmini5,1 host: Serial Number: 0

Post by ilg »

socratis wrote:... Simply signing in with your AppleID might be enough, no need to check anything else.
Attempts to sign with my AppleID (the same that was accepted by AppStore), fail with "You cannot sign in to iCloud because there was a problem verifying the identity of this Mac. Try restarting your Mac and signing again."
ChipMcK
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Re: Macmini5,1 host: Serial Number: 0

Post by ChipMcK »

ilg wrote:"You cannot sign in to iCloud because there was a problem verifying the identity of this Mac. Try restarting your Mac and signing again."
Get help with iCloud
Google is your friend!
ilg
Posts: 23
Joined: 27. Jan 2018, 15:11
Primary OS: Mac OS X other
VBox Version: OSE other
Guest OSses: Linux, macOS

Re: Macmini5,1 host: Serial Number: 0

Post by ilg »

ChipMcK wrote:Get help with iCloud
Google is your friend!
Thank you, ChipMcK. I checked that page but could not identify the reported error case. :(

If I'm missing something, please point me where to look.

To summarize the case, my host computer is an Apple Mac Mini, running macOS 10.13, and the iCloud account is perfectly accesible from it.

On the Mac Mini I finally managed to install VirtualBox 5.2.6, after having to tweak the kext protection mechanism, by issuing

Code: Select all

$ spctl kext-consent add VB5E2TV963
while in Recovery mode (more details).

With VirtualBox, I installed an instance of macOS 10.10.5 Yosemite, using an ISO I created from the original Apple InstallESD.dmg.

Inside the VM, I set the 'DmiSystemSerial' to the same string as seen on the Mac Mini host. This was enough to allow access to AppStore and the Apple Developer site.

However, attempts to connect to iCloud fail with "You cannot sign in to iCloud because there was a problem verifying the identity of this Mac. Try restarting your Mac and signing again." although on the host computer exactly the same account is accepted.

So, if anyone managed to configure the extra data such that access to iCloud is functional (I guess that in addition to the serial number other variables are necessary), please let me know the details.

Thank you,

Liviu
erdeslawe
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Re: Macmini5,1 host: Serial Number: 0

Post by erdeslawe »

I believe you need to register the Virtual installation, i.e. register it as a new Device against your AppleID (or set up another AppleID) before you can use the Store or any other Apple service provided via your Account.
socratis
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Posts: 27330
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Re: Macmini5,1 host: Serial Number: 0

Post by socratis »

[color=#105289]ilg[/color] wrote:Apple Mac Mini
What model?
[color=#105289]ilg[/color] wrote:after having to tweak the kext protection mechanism
Did you complain to Apple about that?
[color=#105289]ilg[/color] wrote:although on the host computer exactly the same account is accepted.
Are you trying to log in to the same account from two different "machines" at the same time? Is this allowed?

And finally, I'll repeat what I said earlier:
[color=#00AA00]socratis[/color] wrote:I don't really know what Apple is looking for the iCloud signing in, maybe you should ask them (and no, it wouldn't be illegal).
Do NOT send me Personal Messages (PMs) for troubleshooting, they are simply deleted.
Do NOT reply with the "QUOTE" button, please use the "POST REPLY", at the bottom of the form.
If you obfuscate any information requested, I will obfuscate my response. These are virtual UUIDs, not real ones.
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