VirtualBox for preserving legacy macOS systems

[vbox_matt]

Hi,

I'm looking for guidance on how suitable VirtualBox is, compared to alternatives like VMWare or Parallels, for running legacy macOS versions that are currently handled by dedicated old Mac Minis, which obviously won't last for ever.

I have a 2019 Mac Pro (Intel) Ventura system available as the host machine, and I need to preserve workflow systems that are running on Yosemite through to High Sierra, and possibly a Big Sur setup.

These legacy systems are for publishing workflows that can't be updated to more modern software (for reasons) and I'm looking for a longer term solution than buying secondhand computers.

I've tried using VMWare Fusion for a Yosemite VM, and found the usability of the virtual machines was really difficult - no graphics acceleration at all, and pretty laggy unusable (moving UI elements, waiting for menus etc) compared to a remote desktop connection to the Yosemite-running Mac Mini.

So is VirtualBox going to be a similar experience, or are there options (my dual GPUs?) to get better performance out of pre-Big Sur (AFAIK it is better for virtualising?) systems?

Thanks.

[mpack]

I've tried using VMWare Fusion for a Yosemite VM, and found the usability of the virtual machines was really difficult - no graphics acceleration at all

VirtualBox will be similar. There are no Guest Additions for MacOS, therefore no graphics acceleration. Technically MacOS it is not a supported guest OS at all. MacOS is only supported as host, and that only on Intel Macs.

Why? I would blame Apple licensing. MacOS is only licensed on Apple hardware, and that makes it a niche OS.

[vbox_matt]

Why? I would blame Apple licensing. MacOS is only licensed on Apple hardware, and that makes it a niche OS.

I seem to recall that beginning with 10.6 Snow Leopard Server, MacOS guests were specifically allowed for virtualisation in the licence conditions, provided they were running on Apple hardware.

But if that's the answer - there's no graphical acceleration prior to the paravirtualised (is that the term?) drivers for Big Sur, then I guess I'll have to look for another solution.