how to install mac os on virtualbox with iso

Download Parallels Lite (opens in new tab) from the App Store.

Credit to for the command line bits to make a disk image to install macOS High Sierra from their Virtualbox install instructions on Windows 10. You can use these instructions for older versions as well. We will also be using macOS High Sierra (opens in new tab) as the installed OS. 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 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. We will be using Parallels Lite (opens in new tab) that is freely downloadable from the App Store.

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. You can run Virtualbox, VMware (opens in new tab), QEMU, and Parallels (opens in new tab). There are a few options for VM software solutions for you to choose from. You'll be able to have your proverbial cake and eat it too.

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. 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. Think of it like the Matrix where the real world is your physical computer and the 'dream' world in the VM. The VM takes resources from your actual computer and uses them to run itself in a contained environment as a separate system altogether. A virtual machine, or VM, is an emulated computer running on top of your current OS installation as a program. 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.

How to install mac os on virtualbox with iso