Oct 24, 2019 Running a virtual machine. One possible solution to the 32-bit application dilemma is to run a version of the latest macOS that fully supports your app in a virtual machine. A virtual machine, or VM, is an emulated computer running on top of your current OS installation as a program. Jun 01, 2019 That means that the software inside a virtual machine can’t escape and tamper with your computer. This makes it an ideal spot for testing new releases, examining infected data, creating OS backups and running applications and software on operating. Jun 07, 2019 5. Before you can run macOS in a virtual machine, you’ll need to run the following commands from a command line or PowerShell with admin privileges on Windows or a terminal on Linux. Make sure VirtualBox is closed before you attempt this.
With the arrival of macOS Catalina, Apple's transition towards 64-bit technology is complete. Starting with macOS Catalina, 32-bit apps no work on your computer. With that being said, there are some workarounds to consider if you happen to have older software that's essential for work or play. Think VM!
Do this first
Before doing anything else, you should check with the app developer to see if a 64-bit version of your software title is available. The transition to 64-bit technology was a lengthy one for Apple and the odds are high that your developer did make the switch.
Do you have 32-bit apps installed on your system?
Moving on, you can confirm whether you have 32-bit apps on your Mac by:
- Choose the Apple icon on the Mac toolbar.
- Click About This Mac.
- Select System Report.
Select Legacy Software in the sidebar. All legacy software is 32-bit.
Use virtualization to run your old apps
Here's a look at the best ways to run older software on your Mac.
Running older software
The issue with running old versions of software is that it can eventually 'break' and not function on a future version of the OS you are running it on. You can hope that the vendor of your application will keep on updating the software to run on future OS updates, but what if you have a very specific program that is no longer maintained? Or perhaps you have a software license for your current version of an application but upgrading to a more modern version introduces too great a cost?
Running a virtual machine
One possible solution to the 32-bit application dilemma is to run a version of the latest macOS that fully supports your app in a virtual machine. A virtual machine, or VM, is an emulated computer running on top of your current OS installation as a program. The VM takes resources from your actual computer and uses them to run itself in a contained environment as a separate system altogether. Think of it like the Matrix where the real world is your physical computer and the 'dream' world in the VM.
Benefits of a VM
Since you needn't buy new hardware, you can simply run an instance of the macOS version that will run your application without issue regardless of that app being 32 bit or 64 bit for as long as you keep your VM. If you upgrade the macOS on your physical Mac, the VM version is completely separate from that process so you'll still be able to keep the 'old' macOS on the VM and run the 'new' macOS for all of your other up-to-date programs. You'll be able to have your proverbial cake and eat it too.
Setting up a VM
There are a few options for VM software solutions for you to choose from. You can run Virtualbox, VMware, QEMU, and Parallels. All of the non-open source VM managers have free 'lighter' versions that will serve our purpose but you can get their full fledge versions that provide various features that are beyond the scope of this article.
We will be using Parallels Lite that is freely downloadable from the App Store. We chose Parallels Lite due to their ease of setup and ability to function on top of a macOS host passing system information that is needed for the guest macOS to properly install. Note that if one day you'd want to change your Mac's operating system to Windows or Linux then you'd might want to install one of the other mentioned VM managers since those can run on those host OSs albeit with a much more involved setup.
We will also be using macOS High Sierra as the installed OS. You can use these instructions for older versions as well. Credit to Howtogeek.com for the command line bits to make a disk image to install macOS High Sierra from their Virtualbox install instructions on Windows 10.
- Download Parallels Lite from the App Store.
Download (but do not install) macOS High Sierra.
Format usb for mac and pc. We need to create the install image so we need to start Terminal.
- In Terminal in your home directory type or copy and paste line by line the following:
- hdiutil create -o HighSierra.cdr -size 7316m -layout SPUD -fs HFS+J
- hdiutil attach HighSierra.cdr.dmg -noverify -nobrowse -mountpoint /Volumes/install_build
- asr restore -source /Applications/Install macOS High Sierra.app/Contents/SharedSupport/BaseSystem.dmg -target /Volumes/install_build -noprompt -noverify -erase
- hdiutil detach /Volumes/OS X Base System
- hdiutil convert HighSierra.cdr.dmg -format UDTO -o HighSierra.iso
- mv HighSierra.iso.cdr HighSierra.iso
- Start Parallels Lite.
- Select Linux only.
- Click Continue.
- Select Install Windows or another OS from a DVD or image file.
Click Continue.
- Select Image File.
- Click Select a file.
- Navigate to your home directory and select the HighSierra.iso file we created in terminal.
- Click Open.
- Click Continue.
- Select macOS as the operating system type.
Click OK.
- Navigate to the folder to house the VM.
- Click Select.
Name your VM and click Create.
- You can optionally set up any VM options you desire such as (note that these can be changed later too):
- Startup and sharing settings in the Options tab.
- Choose CPU, memory and graphic options in the Hardware tab.
- Still under the Hardware Tab select the CD/DVD sub-option.
- Click the dropdown arrow for Source.
- Select Chose an Image File.
- Navigate to your home folder and select the HighSierra.iso file we created in terminal.
- Select Open.
- Select Continue.
- You can now Start the VM.
- Install macOS like you would normally do on any real system
Once you have a completed install, you'll want to install the Parallels Tools program in your VM macOS. This will allow you to be able to seamlessly use your mouse between your real desktop and your VM desktop as well as resize your VM screen on the fly with proper display attributes.
- Click the highlighted yellow exclamation point over your VM window.
- Click Continue.
On your VM, double-click the Parallels Tools installer that opens.
- Complete the installation and reboot your VM.
Final comments
You now have a full-fledged macOS installation that you can keep for your older 32-bit applications once macOS decides to give them the boot. You'll be able to make snapshots of the VM to have different save states. You'll be able to run all native macOS applications you normally do. The drawback will be the speed of execution and disk speed but if you have a powerful Mac, you may not notice too much of a difference depending on the application. Does this solution work for you? Tell us what you'd rather see happen for 32-bit applications on macOS in the comments!
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Mac OS is the secondmost popular operating system after Microsoft Windows. Although you arecomfortable using Windows for a very long time but there are many scenarioswhere you need a Mac OS machine.
Whether you want to develop your iOS app on Xcode, using apps like Final Cut Pro or iMovie which only comes on Mac OS, you need to buy an expensive Apple Macbook. So, without making a hole in your pocket, the alternate solution to this installing Mac OS on your Windows computer. Let’s get started with this tutorial
Watch Video Tutorial
Step One: Download Mac OS ISO Image file
As you are on a Windows PC, you don’t have access to Apple Store to download Mac OS. You need to download Mac OS from an external trusted source. You can download the latest Mac OS Catalina 10.15 or Mac OS Mojave 10.14 Installer files from our website.
Step Two: Download Virtual Machine for Windows
There is various free Virtual Machine software available for Windows such as Oracle’s VirtualBox. But I recommend using VMware Workstation Pro, although it’s a paid software but you can use it free for 30 days trial. You can download Vmware Workstation Pro 15 from this link.
Step Three: Install VMware Patch to run Mac OS X
- Go to the VMware macOS Unlocker page to download. Click the Clone or download button, then click Download ZIP.
- Power off all virtual machines running and exit VMware.
- Extract the downloaded .zip file in step 1.
- On Windows, right-click on the win-install.cmd file and select Run as Administrator to unlock. Also, run win-update-tools.cmd for VMware tools for macOS.
- After the unlock process is complete, run VMware to create the macOS virtual machine.
Virtual Machines For Mac
Step Four: Create an Apple Mac OS Virtual Machine
- Click File, select New Virtual Machine…
- Select Typical (recommended) and click Next.
- Select I will install the operating system later. and click Next.
- Select Apple Mac OS X in the Guest operating system section and select macOS 10.14 in the Version section. Click Next.
- In the Name, the Virtual Machine window, name the virtual machine and virtual machine directory. I personally would put it on a different drive than the system drive.
- Select the size for the new virtual disk in the Specify Disk Capacity window. This is the virtual disk to be installed macOS. Click Next and then Finish.
Step Five: Run you Mac OS Virtual Machine with VMDK or ISO file
After successfully creating an Apple Mac OS Virtual Machine, you need to run the machine with an actual Mac OS file such as Mac OS Mojave 10.14 ISO file or Mac OS Mojave 10.14 VMDK Image
Watch this Video Tutorial
Mac Os Virtual Machine Software
If you face any driver issues, Try installing VMware tools from the VM tab in the VMware window. Also, I would recommend assigning a minimum of 4GB RAM and 40GB of Hard Disk to your Virtual Machine.
Virtual Machine For Mac To Run Windows
That’s it for the tutorial If you face any issues or had any query then please let us know in the comment section below. You can also send us an email via the contact us page for personalized support.