[Solved] Installing El Capitan on a 10.13.3 host (iMac Pro)

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tutt
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Joined: 14. Mar 2018, 03:07

[Solved] Installing El Capitan on a 10.13.3 host (iMac Pro)

Post by tutt »

I'm a longtime Mac and VirtualBox user with several successful OS X guest installations that I use for application compatibility testing. I only use genuine Apple hardware. My new machine is a late 2017 iMac Pro running High Sierra 10.13.3. I am trying to install El Capitan as a guest, using the installer downloaded from the Mac App store (that I had on a backup drive from a few years ago). The installer, "Install OS X El Capitan.app" is 10.11.6 (15G31). I've tried several tutorials and apps for creating a bootable image. The most comprehensive I found was here:
riccardotramma dot com/2016/05/install-os-x-on-virtualbox-on-os-x/

From what I can tell, the installer image I am creating should work to boot the VM. The same image boots a real mac system on a USB drive without issue.

The issue I'm having is that the new VM will not boot from the installer image, but rather displays the "Guru Meditation" error. No matter what I try, this is the result. I've tried adjusting every possible setting: Chipset, Processors, EFI, video memory, Audio etc. Here are my logs:

pastebin dot com/raw/jUXVaypJ

Can anybody tell what might be going wrong? Thanks so much in advance for any tips.

PS I was prevented from posting links above, so you'll have to copy paste them manually, sorry.
Last edited by socratis on 14. Mar 2018, 04:10, edited 1 time in total.
Reason: Marked as [Solved].
socratis
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Posts: 27330
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Primary OS: Mac OS X other
VBox Version: PUEL
Guest OSses: Win(*>98), Linux*, OSX>10.5
Location: Greece

Re: Installing El Capitan on a 10.13.3 host (iMac Pro)

Post by socratis »

In the "OSX guests" section of the forums (that's where you posted), there is a sticky topic titled "[Howto] Create OSX ISO from the OSX Install app". Follow the instructions there. And get rid of your old VM, create a new one and try with the defaults suggested by the template...
Do NOT send me Personal Messages (PMs) for troubleshooting, they are simply deleted.
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If you obfuscate any information requested, I will obfuscate my response. These are virtual UUIDs, not real ones.
tutt
Posts: 5
Joined: 14. Mar 2018, 03:07

Re: Installing El Capitan on a 10.13.3 host (iMac Pro)

Post by tutt »

I followed that guide to the letter. Actually, just now I copied the same ISO I created to an older iMac (Late 2015), running Sierra. Same version of VirtualBox. Everything worked FINE. So the issue seems to be specific to the iMac Pro and/or High Sierra.
socratis
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Posts: 27330
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Location: Greece

Re: Installing El Capitan on a 10.13.3 host (iMac Pro)

Post by socratis »

tutt wrote:So the issue seems to be specific to the iMac Pro and/or High Sierra.
The issue is specific to your CPU. Too new for your own good ;)
With the VM completely shutdown, issue the following command in the Terminal. No sudo or tricks like that are required, just as "you":
  • VBoxManage modifyvm "El Capitan" --cpu-profile "Intel Core i7-6700K"
if your VM is still called "El Capitan", otherwise change the name in underline italics.
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.
tutt
Posts: 5
Joined: 14. Mar 2018, 03:07

Re: Installing El Capitan on a 10.13.3 host (iMac Pro)

Post by tutt »

Aaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh thank you. Perhaps there should be a sticky about this somewhere.
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: Installing El Capitan on a 10.13.3 host (iMac Pro)

Post by socratis »

Once it gets mainstream status, sure. Right now it just graduated beta... ;)
I might include it in the other posts with the installer instructions, I'll see.
Glad you got it going. Marking as [Solved].
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.
tutt
Posts: 5
Joined: 14. Mar 2018, 03:07

Re: [Solved] Installing El Capitan on a 10.13.3 host (iMac Pro)

Post by tutt »

I'm still installing, so will update this if it is successful. Would the same trick work for Sierra (guest)? I seem to be stuck on gIOScreenLockState. Here's that log:

pastebin dot com/raw/EaiAGNWJ
socratis
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Posts: 27330
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Primary OS: Mac OS X other
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Location: Greece

Re: [Solved] Installing El Capitan on a 10.13.3 host (iMac Pro)

Post by socratis »

tutt wrote:Would the same trick work for Sierra (guest)? I seem to be stuck on gIOScreenLockState.
You really ought to read the posts that I linked to. It's right there, in the red warning part...
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.
tutt
Posts: 5
Joined: 14. Mar 2018, 03:07

Re: [Solved] Installing El Capitan on a 10.13.3 host (iMac Pro)

Post by tutt »

Sorry. I'll try installing from 10.12.3.
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