[solved] 10.5 on 10.9, "OS X cannot be installed" error

[Robert Walker]

Update: SOLVED NOW

The solution was to get an Apple Developer's license - as a developer wanted to do this anyway to do code signing when it's out of beta. It costs $99 a year, or £60 a year here in the UK.

This gives you access to downloads of all the previous retail versions of the operating systems. I downloaded the very first release of Leopard, 10.5. That worked in the VM - though I haven't tested if any later ones work.

The problem I had originally was that I was using a non retail version of Leopard which only works with certain machines.

So - had already primed the Virtual Machine, to identify its cpu as an older machine, by putting these instructions into Terminal (rpmurray's tweak) -

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VBoxManage modifyvm Leopard --cpuidset 00000001 0001067a 00000800 80000209 078bfbff
VBoxManage setextradata Leopard VBoxInternal/Devices/efi/0/Config/DmiSystemProduct "MacBookPro5,1”

They didn't work for the non retail version though. Don't know if they were needed for the retail version.

LEOPARD STILL HAS NO SOUND THOUGH

It doesn't have any sound - shows as "no sound output devices" in the VM. Tried all the possibilities in the VM there, and also tried installing this sound driver for Leopard VMs:

viewtopic.php?f=30&t=33358

That didn't work. But, as this is just for debugging, and also for an ancient version of OSX that only a few users need it for - then I'm not too bothered about that.

My programs play notes via Midi usually, and whatever changes there might be in the audio architecture - don't expect there were any changes that would impact on them playing via midi. So it's enough for now to debug it purely visually. If anyone happens to know how to fix the sound issue, do say, but it's not a big deal right now.

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Original post:

Okay encouraged by success in 10.6.3 on OSX in VB, I'm now trying Leopard (10.5.6).

Did various tweaks in the command line: the rpmurray tweak, the license key command and the display command:

VBoxManage modifyvm "<VM_Name>" --cpuidset 00000001 000006fb 00000800 80000209 078bfbff

VBoxManage setextradata "<VM_Name>" VBoxInternal/Devices/efi/0/Config/DmiSystemSerial <YourSerialNumber>

VBoxManage setextradata "<VM_Name>" VBoxInternal2/EfiGopMode 3

That got me as far as starting up the installer.

But now it says ""Mac OS X cannot be installed on this computer".

Is there any fix for this?

I'm using VB 4.3.6 for this as recommended in the OSX on OSX thread.

Also BTW - this is just a a matter of convenience - for some reason Disk Utility refuses to make a cdr disk image of it. Interested to know if anyone knows why that is also.

It's awkward doing it from the DVD drive - slower - but the main thing is that it tends to power down - and so sometimes my VM loses it, and I have to reattach it under storage - and also sometimes get the error "still waiting for root device" for instance.

However, if I keep trying, it eventually loads the installer okay - but then I get this message saying it can't be installed on this computer.

I wondered if it could be that it thinks my computer is too new for Leopard. Just a guess. If so - is there some way to tell it that it is okay to go ahead in the Virtual Machine?

Or any other thoughts? Interested in any suggestions at all, even if there's only a remote chance they might help, is easy enough to just give them a go and see if they do anything. Thanks!

[rpmurray]

You're getting the ""Mac OS X cannot be installed on this computer" because the installer checks the Mac model identifier to see if it's running on a supported Mac.

By default VirtualBox will present the host model identifier to the VM. What you need to do is change that to a supported Mac. Use the following command:

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VBoxManage setextradata "vm name" VBoxInternal/Devices/efi/0/Config/DmiSystemProduct "model identifier"

Replace the "vm name" with the name of your VM and the "model identifier" with a Mac model that can run 10.5 (Leopard). For example "iMac8,1" which is the model identifier of an Apple iMac "Core 2 Duo" 3.06 24-Inch (Early 2008) and was capable of running 10.5.2 and above. If the Leopard disc you are using came bundled with a particular Mac and isn't a retail version you'll need to use the model identifier of that Mac. The discs that came bundled with the Macs only work with a narrow subset of supported Macs and the installer app on them is keyed to the specific Mac models it was shipped with.

[Robert Walker]

Oh, okay, Yes I did get install disk for a specific model of Mac.

I've just looked it up, this is what I bought:

Apple MacBook Pro 15" 2009 A1286 Software Install DVD Discs OS X 10.5.6 Leopard

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Apple-MacBook ... OU:GB:3160

So, I think, it's the install disk for one of these models of the Macbook Pro
http://www.everymac.com/ultimate-mac-lo ... ords=A1286

And from Apple:
http://support.apple.com/kb/ht4132

looks as if the only models of Macbook Pro in 2009 are MacBookPro5,1 up to 5,3

I've tried

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VBoxManage setextradata "vm name" VBoxInternal/Devices/efi/0/Config/DmiSystemProduct "MacBookPro5,4"

with MacBookPro5,1, up to MacBookPro5,9.

Also tried MacBookPro6,2.

It seems to make a difference - for MacBookPro5,1 and MacBookPro5,2 it doesn't get as far as the install page, gets stuck on the scrolling command line.

Screen Shot 2014-10-31 at 23.56.30.png (114.33 KiB) Viewed 12513 times

while for MacBookPro5,3 upwards I get the "OS X cannot be installed" error.

Screen Shot 2014-11-01 at 00.42.07.png (115.92 KiB) Viewed 12512 times

Any other thoughts?

I can contact the seller to see if they have more information about the model, if there is anything useful to ask. Or can I interrogate the install disk itself in some way to find out what model version number it is for?

[Robert Walker]

I could also buy the retail version of Leopard.

I didn't know about this distinction before, that it is tied down to a particular model of Mac.

The main thing is though, it is far more expensive than Snow Leopard, normally, £50 for the retail version, compared with just under £20 for Snow Leopard. It costs nearly as much as a second hand Leopard Mac.

However, I just spotted this on ebay, it's 10.5.2, and it looks like a retail DVD from the colour. Whether or not, at £10 it's a snap so just ordered, it will get another chance at installing Leopard. If this doesn't work I suppose it's a case of buying a second hand Leopard machine.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/151458797802

Do say if anyone has any more ideas about solving this issue with the non retail DVD.

[rpmurray]

I have some ideas but I'll need to know the build version of the 10.5.6 (Leopard) disc you're using. Put it in the drive, let it mount on the desktop, and then use Terminal to issue the following command:

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defaults read '/Volumes/Mac OS X Install DVD/System/Library/CoreServices/SystemVersion' 'ProductBuildVersion'

This assumes that the disc displays as "Mac OS X Install DVD" on your desktop when mounted. If it doesn't then replace that portion of the command with the name of the volume that you see once it is mounted.

The build version should be something like 9G2133, or 9G2141, etc.

When you were having trouble with making a .cdr was that because Disk Utility wouldn't create a .cdr at all, or that it creates one but it doesn't work when you try to use it to install the OS?

[rpmurray]

However, I just spotted this on ebay, it's 10.5.2, and it looks like a retail DVD from the colour.

It's not. The retail discs had the following versions:

10.5, build 9A581 (Original retail release)
10.5.1, build 9B18 (Second retail release)
10.5.4, build 9E17 (Third retail release)
10.5.6, build 9G55 (Fourth retail release)

Even if you have one of these versions, it isn't necessarily the retail version depending on the build number. All the retail versions will have a big black X centering on the spindle hole in the center of the disc.

[Robert Walker]

I have some ideas but I'll need to know the build version of the 10.5.6 (Leopard) disc you're using. Put it in the drive, let it mount on the desktop, and then use Terminal to issue the following command:

Code: Select all

defaults read '/Volumes/Mac OS X Install DVD/System/Library/CoreServices/SystemVersion' 'ProductBuildVersion'

This assumes that the disc displays as "Mac OS X Install DVD" on your desktop when mounted. If it doesn't then replace that portion of the command with the name of the volume that you see once it is mounted.

The build version should be something like 9G2133, or 9G2141, etc.

Okay thanks, it says 9G2133

[Robert Walker]

...All the retail versions will have a big black X centering on the spindle hole in the center of the disc.

.

Okay thanks, so know now for the future.

[Robert Walker]

When you were having trouble with making a .cdr was that because Disk Utility wouldn't create a .cdr at all, or that it creates one but it doesn't work when you try to use it to install the OS?

It doesn't create it at all. When I try to make it with disk utility - then it starts off fine, but then half way through making it, it stops and deletes the cdr file it's made so far - without any messages.

I also tried copying the contents of the DVD to a folder, but that also failed - with an error message "Finder can't complete the operation because some data in "" can't be read or written"

[rpmurray]

I didn't have any trouble creating a cdr from the 10.5 disc I have. It could be that there are some unreadable sectors on your disc that are keeping it from creating the cdr. Have you tried cleaning it gently with a soft cloth?

According to everymac, the MacBook Pros that came with the 9G2133 build release are the MacBook Pro "Core 2 Duo" 2.66 15" (Unibody) and the MacBook Pro "Core 2 Duo" 2.93 15" (Unibody). They had Core 2 Duo (T9550) and Core 2 Duo (T9800) processors, respectively, and had Mac Model IDs of MacBookPro5,1. So you could try modifying the CPUID to match to see if that is what is causing the problem. Try using the following command:

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VBoxManage modifyvm "<VM_Name>" --cpuidset 00000001 0001067a 00000800 80000209 078bfbff

[Robert Walker]

I didn't have any trouble creating a cdr from the 10.5 disc I have. It could be that there are some unreadable sectors on your disc that are keeping it from creating the cdr. Have you tried cleaning it gently with a soft cloth?

According to everymac, the MacBook Pros that came with the 9G2133 build release are the MacBook Pro "Core 2 Duo" 2.66 15" (Unibody) and the MacBook Pro "Core 2 Duo" 2.93 15" (Unibody). They had Core 2 Duo (T9550) and Core 2 Duo (T9800) processors, respectively, and had Mac Model IDs of MacBookPro5,1. So you could try modifying the CPUID to match to see if that is what is causing the problem. Try using the following command:

Code: Select all

VBoxManage modifyvm "<VM_Name>" --cpuidset 00000001 0001067a 00000800 80000209 078bfbff

Thanks, I did try cleaning it, have tried again. same problem.

There are a few faint scratch marks on the surface, perhaps they are the problem?

Just tried your code

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VBoxManage modifyvm "<VM_Name>" --cpuidset 00000001 0001067a 00000800 80000209 078bfbff

but same error as before.

DETAILS

- first time I ran after that it crashed a couple of times (critical error, same as for viewtopic.php?f=8&t=64312 )

So went back to the previous:

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VBoxManage modifyvm "<VM_Name>" --cpuidset 00000001 000006fb 00000800 80000209 078bfbff

and ran it, then ran it a second time with your new code set, and it gives the same error as before "Mac OS X cannot be installed on this computer"

Any other thoughts?

[rpmurray]

Any other thoughts?

I'll need to think on it. As far as I know OS X for versions of 10.6 and older only do two checks that can cause problems when trying to install it as a guest. One is the CPUID test when it boots, which is taken care of by the VBoxManage cpuidset command, and the other is the test for the Mac Model ID when you run the installer, which is taken care of by the VBoxManage setextradata command to change the DmiSystemProduct.

Both of these commands are only necessary if you are attempting to install a version of OS X as a guest on a Mac that can't run that version natively.

The version of OS X 10.5 that I installed was the retail version, so I'm wondering if the version you have that came bundled with a Mac is doing some extra check not on the retail version that is failing. I don't get the messages you see on startup like:

Failed to count the number of files in "/System/Library/StartupItems": No such file directory

and the

Couldn't read user-specified Computer Name: using default bMacBookPro-000000000000b

Could you attach a copy of the VB log from when you have the Model ID set to "MacBookPro5,1" and the CPUID set to 0001067a? There might be some clues in there to nail down what is happening.

Also, do you have another Mac you could use to try to make a cdr of the disc? The fact that it fails to make the cdr makes me wonder if whatever that problem is is also what it causing the install to fail when you're trying to install the OS as a guest.

[michaln]

On the installation DVD, the file /System/Installation/Packages/OSInstall.mpkg can be unpacked using xar (xar -x -f OSInstall.mpkg). The file called 'Distribution' inside the archive should contain a short section which starts with 'var hwbeSupportedMachines' and lists the supported Mac models. That should be true for at least Leopard and Snow Leopard. This way it's possible to tell for sure what the installation disc expects to see.

[rpmurray]

On the installation DVD, the file /System/Installation/Packages/OSInstall.mpkg can be unpacked ...

Yes, that's how I determined that the Mac Model Identifier needed to be presented to the VM so that OS X would install as a guest. In the case of OS X 10.7 and above you also need to present the motherboard ID.

I'm speculating that in the case of the OS X discs that came bundled with the Mac there might be additional checks the installer does since those discs would contain drivers to support new hardware features, etc., and Apple may have wanted to make sure they were only used on Macs that could support that.

Robert, if you want to do as michaln suggests then there's a write-up at 10.5: Bypass the installer's system requirements check.

[michaln]

The hwbeSupportedMachines thingy is how one can tell which models an OS X DVD that came with a Mac actually supports. There are no additional checks (well, for Snow Leopard and earlier at least).

Old generic install DVDs will happily crash and burn on newer Macs, much like they do in VirtualBox...