MacOS Monterey install freezing less than a minute remaining

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HighHarmonics
Posts: 6
Joined: 25. Dec 2022, 08:33

MacOS Monterey install freezing less than a minute remaining

Post by HighHarmonics »

Summary: I can't get a macOS guest with Monterey working. It almost finishes install, then appears to freeze.

I did a search on this topic and found one other thread - but it was with BigSur (not Monterey) and the solution was to just "wait it out" or get a SSD. (thread 503876)

I had read that macOS guests should always be installed with the VDI on the internal HD. I'm hoping someone can offer insight - or at least confirmation that my settings are all OK.

Host: macOS BigSur 11.7.1
VB: 7.0.4 with Oracle VM VB Extension Pack
Guest: 9 GB, 4 CPU, VDI: 80 Gb on internal HD
Monterey: iso converted from Apple installer using hdiutil
Boot order: Optical, HD; chipset: ICH9, EFI enabled, PAE/NX
Storage: SATA AHCI, use Host I/O enabled
Port 0: Optical: Monterey.iso
Port 1: vdi
USB 3.0 controller, Video memory 127 MB
VM OS version: Mac OS X (64) (generic)

Steps:
1. Start VM, use Disk Utility to format, Install Monterey
2. OS Installation runs for a long time, reports progress (20 mins remaining, 12 mins remaining, etc)
3. OS reboots - then more progress (10 mins remaining, etc)
4. at final stage - one minute remaining - it stalls
I let it set this way for 2 hours - tried saving state, power down and restart, etc.

I have done this now with 2 VMs with only minor settings changes, and I get the same results.
During the install, I watch Activity - when it reaches "one minute remaining" for the first ~ 30 mins I see disk and CPU activity, then it settles down to almost nothing.

Side note: Monterey does not ask for my AppleID up front - all other macOS installs I have done ask for this up front. Not sure if that has any relevance
granada29
Volunteer
Posts: 690
Joined: 3. Mar 2015, 07:27
Primary OS: Mac OS X other
VBox Version: OSE other
Guest OSses: Linux, macOS, Windows

Re: MacOS Monterey install freezing less than a minute remaining

Post by granada29 »

You need to run the following command from Terminal while your VM is shutdown. replacing vm-name with the name of your guest VM.

Code: Select all

VBoxManage setextradata "vm-name" "VBoxInternal/TM/TSCMode" "RealTSCOffset"
This should prevent the freeze that you are experiencing, but performance will still not be great. VirtualBox 7.0.4 has a lot more overhead than 6.1.x.
HighHarmonics
Posts: 6
Joined: 25. Dec 2022, 08:33

Re: MacOS Monterey install freezing less than a minute remaining

Post by HighHarmonics »

Thanks - I appreciate the quick response. I added the extra data via VBoxManage and started again.
Same results - except it started back at "20 mins remaining..." went up to "less than a minute remaining..." and just stayed in that state.

I tried:
- saving + start
- power down + start

I saw this in the logs:
ERROR [COM]: aRC=VBOX_E_NOT_SUPPORTED ...aComponent={GuestWrap} aText={Invalid status level defined: 0}, preserve=false aResultDetail=0

Any other ideas?
granada29
Volunteer
Posts: 690
Joined: 3. Mar 2015, 07:27
Primary OS: Mac OS X other
VBox Version: OSE other
Guest OSses: Linux, macOS, Windows

Re: MacOS Monterey install freezing less than a minute remaining

Post by granada29 »

Would you please post the VBox.log file (compressed) for this session. There maybe other elements of your setup that need tweaking.

- Close/shutdown your VM
- Right-click the VM in the VirtualBox main window and select Show in Finder
- Open the Logs folder in the Finder
- Right-click VBox.log and select Compress "VBox.log"
- Add the compressed (zip) file to a new posting in this thread.
HighHarmonics
Posts: 6
Joined: 25. Dec 2022, 08:33

Re: MacOS Monterey install freezing less than a minute remaining

Post by HighHarmonics »

3 separate log files attached.
Attachments
VBox.log.2.zip
(39.82 KiB) Downloaded 45 times
VBox.log.1.zip
(40.41 KiB) Downloaded 17 times
VBox.log.zip
(42.29 KiB) Downloaded 32 times
HighHarmonics
Posts: 6
Joined: 25. Dec 2022, 08:33

Re: MacOS Monterey install freezing less than a minute remaining

Post by HighHarmonics »

Thank you for looking into this! @granada29

BTW - in response to your comment about performance. I understand.
My use case is to be able to test various application installations (bash scripts, ansible?) with a different macOS than my host. I can work with a slow system - I just need it to be stable with internet connectivity. I chose VBox to be able to utilize the snapshots/restore capability. Run installs, evaluate, restore to previous snap, rinse & repeat.
granada29
Volunteer
Posts: 690
Joined: 3. Mar 2015, 07:27
Primary OS: Mac OS X other
VBox Version: OSE other
Guest OSses: Linux, macOS, Windows

Re: MacOS Monterey install freezing less than a minute remaining

Post by granada29 »

You also need to set a few more extradata items - See this post: viewtopic.php?f=22&t=107564#p526418

Also I would change a couple of things just to get the install complete. You can easily change them back later.
- Reduce from 4 to 3 CPUs
- Disable audio.
HighHarmonics
Posts: 6
Joined: 25. Dec 2022, 08:33

Re: MacOS Monterey install freezing less than a minute remaining

Post by HighHarmonics »

Thanks again!
I've added those values via the `setextradata` command, and adjusted Settings for Audio and CPU count. (First time someone has told me to reduce compute resources :wink: ) I'm restarting and will share results - may have to be tomorrow afternoon.
HighHarmonics
Posts: 6
Joined: 25. Dec 2022, 08:33

Re: MacOS Monterey install freezing less than a minute remaining

Post by HighHarmonics »

Success! :D MacOS finally launched.

I did a fresh VM with all the recommended settings, extra data, etc.
I also moved the monterey.iso file to the internal HD (it was previously on an external drive). That did make everything run faster.
It took 4 reboots and seemed to freeze again at "less than a minute remaining..." It stayed in that state for over an hour. But then it rebooted and 10 mins later I was at the Monterey config screen.

Thanks @granada29 for all your help!!! Much appreciated.

Will try now to see if I can enable audio. The installs I'm testing are audio applications!
granada29
Volunteer
Posts: 690
Joined: 3. Mar 2015, 07:27
Primary OS: Mac OS X other
VBox Version: OSE other
Guest OSses: Linux, macOS, Windows

Re: MacOS Monterey install freezing less than a minute remaining

Post by granada29 »

I'm glad you got there. Good luck with the audio. It has been a while since I tried audio in any VM on the Mac, after a lot of issues with it causing crashes. Hopefully it is now working better.
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