VirtualBox on Mac OS X M1 Pro

Discussions related to using VirtualBox on Mac OS X hosts.
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hitesh123
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Joined: 9. Aug 2022, 08:04

VirtualBox on Mac OS X M1 Pro

Post by hitesh123 »

I tried installing virtual box on Mac M1 machine, but not able to install on Mac M1 machine. Is there any way to install virtualBox on M1 or any alternative which I can use VirtualBox on Mac M1.
multiOS
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Primary OS: Mac OS X other
VBox Version: PUEL
Guest OSses: WIN11,10, 7, Linux (various)
Location: United Kingdom

Re: VirtualBox on Mac OS X M1 Pro

Post by multiOS »

No, there isn't a VirtualBox version that is compatible with Apple's ARM (M1/M2) processors. Whether or not there will be an Oracle ARM compatible alternative version is unknown to us users.

The currently known alternatives are Parallels or UTM, bit they are not discussed here.
mpack
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Re: VirtualBox on Mac OS X M1 Pro

Post by mpack »

See the sticky at the top of the this forum.

I will add that, as far as is known, the VirtualBox alternatives will not please you either, assuming your goal is to run x86 Windows or Linux code on a Mac in the manner you may be used to. VirtualBox is a hypervisor, as all of the practical alternatives are too. This means that while the hardware is virtual, code runs directly on the host CPU at full speed, the host CPU therefore must be x86. VirtualBox is not a CPU SIMULATOR, as that is a different animal entirely with much worse performance and most likely errors in detail that prevents a complex OS from running. So while some of the alternatives might talk about Intel code on M1, they are talking about CPU simulation, which is fine for debugging, otherwise it's a toy.

And a strong beware of the sales blurb showing pretty pictures of a Windows 10 or 11 desktop. First, there are ARM builds of Windows, or x86 builds of their hypervisor, so those pictures could come from that. If it's a simulator then those pictures don't tell you how long it took to get to that desktop, assuming the screenshot is simply fabricated.
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