Howto install OSX 10.6 in VMware running on AMD.


I succeeded installing and running OSX 10.6 in VMware Workstation under Windows 7 with a AMD Phenom II x4 965 CPU - other AMD CPU's from that line will most likely work too. The following instructions to not require any questionable tools, bootloader or startup images.


You do, however, need to install an appropriate AMD kernel, since OSX does not support it. You will also need to patch VMware to provide the "Darvin" bootloader and to be able to read HFS+ startup media. 


The installation is somewhat cumbersome and technical, but if you follow the instructions carefully it will work. I just finished setting up the system and I'm happy with hit. Please keep in mind that this is all the result of my own experimenting, spending a complete weekend. I have not found these instructions anywhere on the web so far.


On your Mac:

1) Create 3 folders: osx, kernel, and kext

2) Copy regular Snow Leopard disk image (client/desktop). 

Insert your OSX install DVD into your Mac. Open Disk Utility and select the mounted OSX Install Volume. Select File:New:Disk Image from "OSX Install", save it as a regular compressed disk image, e.g. osx1063.dmg in the "osx" folder. When done, eject the mounted OSX Install disk image to avoid using the wrong volume. You will need to add some files, but more on this later.


3) Find a MacOS/X AMD kernel for your OS/X version. 
I found some at: https://www.hackintosh-forum.de/forum/board/56-kernel/

Please carefully follow these instructions:

Put the .pkg file into the "kernel" folder.
Using Terminal.app, cd to the "kernel" folder and extract the contents. For example:

$ pkgutil --expand-full legacy_kernel-10.3.0.pkg stuff
$ open stuff/root.pkg/Payload

Drag "legacy_kernel" to the "kernel" folder.
Drag "SleepEnabler.kext" to the "kext" folder.
Delete the "stuff" folder.

4) Find and download some essential kext's:
FakeSMC.kext
NullCPUPowerManagement.kext

Drag them to the "kext" folder.

5) Modify the OSX Install disk image.

Using Terminal.app, cd to the folder of your .dmg image.

$ hdiutil attach -owners on osx1063.dmg -shadow

Verify no other disk image with a similar name is open:
$ df -h

$ open /Volumes/Mac\ OS\ X\ Install\ DVD

Drag/Copy your "kext" folder to the window just opened.
Drag/Copy your "kernel" folder into the window as well.

CD to the copied kext folder and fix file permissions.

$ cd /Volumes/Mac\ OS\ X\ Install\ DVD/kext
pwd 
/Volumes/Mac OS X Install DVD/kext
$ xattr -rc *
$ sudo chown -R root:wheel *
(When prompted for password, enter your current user account password)
$ sudo chmod -R 755 *
$ ls -ld@ *
drwxr-xr-x  3 root  wheel  102 Nov 24  2012 FakeSMC.kext
drwxr-xr-x  3 root  wheel  102 Nov 24  2012 NullCPUPowerManagement.kext
drwxr-xr-x  3 root  wheel  102 Apr  2  2010 SleepEnabler.kext

Copy the kext file to the Installer system extensions folder.

$ sudo cp -pR *.kext /Volumes/Mac\ OS\ X\ Install\ DVD/System/Library/Extensions

Replace the mach_kernel on the Installer image by entering the following commands:

$ cd /Volumes/Mac\ OS\ X\ Install\ DVD
$ sudo mv mach_kernel mach_kernel_orig
$ sudo cp kernel/legacy_kernel mach_kernel
$ sudo chown root:wheel mach_kernel

Done.

$ cd

CD out of the from the disk image and eject it 
(Finder Select the mounted image, right-click: eject, or drag to trash)

CD into your "osx" folder and type the following to merge the shadow image:

$ hdiutil convert -format UDZO -o osx1063amd.dmg osx1063.dmg -shadow

6) Convert the new .dmg image to iso:

$ hdiutil convert -format UDTO osx1063amd.dmg -o osx1063amd.cdr
$ mv osx1063amd.cdr osx1063amd.iso

Keep in mind that the .iso image will be HFS+ that Windows cannot read. It may read the Bootcamp partition instead, which we don't need. 

Finally copy the iso image to your PC.




On your PC:

1) Install VMware workstation (I tried version 8 and 9, both worked).
2) Search the web for "unlocker vmware"
3) Follow the instructions to patch vmware for OSX.

I suggest using VMware Workstation 9 and applying the patch using the v130 unlocker.

4) Creating a virtual machine.

The following is a bit cumbersome, but failure to do so will result in "The guest OS is not 10.6 server". Open VMware Workstation and elect "new Virtual Machine" from the file menu, with the following settings or options:

- Custom.
- I will install the OS later.
- Choose Apple Mac OS X as the guest OS.
- Seect "Server 10.6" or "Server 10.6 64-bit".
- Name it, e.g. "Mac OSX Snow Leopard".

Leave the default for anything else and continue clicking "next" until finish. 

Do not start the VM yet. Close VMware.

Navigate to your Virtual Machine directory and locate the .vmx file of your VM, e.g.:
"Mac OSX Snow Leopard.vmx". Open the file with Notepad.

Delete everything except the following 4 lines (the order doesn't matter):

nvram = "Mac OSX Snow Leopard.nvram"
extendedConfigFile = "Mac OSX Snow Leopard.vmxf"
displayName = "Mac OSX Snow Leopard"
scsi0:0.fileName = "Mac OSX Snow Leopard.vmdk"

Add the following

bios.bootdelay = "10000"
.encoding = "UTF-8"
config.version = "8"
virtualHW.version = "7"
numvcpus = "1"
scsi0.present = "TRUE"
scsi0.virtualDev = "lsilogic"
memsize = "1024"
scsi0:0.present = "TRUE"
ide1:0.present = "TRUE"
ide1:0.autodetect = "TRUE"
ide1:0.deviceType = "cdrom-raw"
ethernet0.present = "TRUE"
ethernet0.virtualDev = "e1000"
ethernet0.wakeOnPcktRcv = "FALSE"
ethernet0.linkStatePropagation.enable = "FALSE"
usb.present = "TRUE"
ehci.present = "TRUE"
serial0.present = "TRUE"
serial0.fileType = "thinprint"
pciBridge0.present = "TRUE"
pciBridge4.present = "TRUE"
pciBridge4.virtualDev = "pcieRootPort"
pciBridge4.functions = "8"
pciBridge5.present = "TRUE"
pciBridge5.virtualDev = "pcieRootPort"
pciBridge5.functions = "8"
pciBridge6.present = "TRUE"
pciBridge6.virtualDev = "pcieRootPort"
pciBridge6.functions = "8"
pciBridge7.present = "TRUE"
pciBridge7.virtualDev = "pcieRootPort"
pciBridge7.functions = "8"
vmci0.present = "TRUE"
ich7m.present = "TRUE"
smc.present = "FALSE"
roamingVM.exitBehavior = "go"
tools.syncTime = "TRUE"
guestOS = "darwin10"
virtualHW.productCompatibility = "hosted"
ft.secondary0.enabled = "TRUE"
printers.enabled = "TRUE"
keyboardAndMouseProfile = "macProfile"
tools.upgrade.policy = "upgradeAtPowerCycle"
powerType.powerOff = "soft"
powerType.powerOn = "soft"
powerType.suspend = "soft"
powerType.reset = "soft"
sound.present = "TRUE"
sound.fileName = "-1"
sound.autodetect = "TRUE"
ethernet0.connectionType = "nat"
floppy0.present = "FALSE"

Don't forget to save and close the file. 

5) Double-click the .vmx file you just modified to open VMware. Do no start the VM yet. Add/odify the virutal network adapters you need. For my purpose I require a "brdiged" and "host-only" network adapter. You may remove the "printer".

Select CD/DVD (IDE) and set the ISO image file you created earlier, e.g. osx1063amd.iso.

Click OK when done. Now finally choose "Power on this virtual machine". Click "OK" when prompted to use the virtual CD-ROM. Wait for the timer to countdown from 8 and sit back. Wait for the OSX Installer to appear in a few seconds.

6) Install OSX as usual. You will need to open the Disk Utility from the Utilites menu to create a partition and name it HD. Then select the drive to install OSX. To speed things uk a bit you can choose "Custom" and de-select everything.

7) The OS will not be able to start from the HD yet. It is therefore necessary to start from the installer ISO image again, and perform additional tasks in Terminal. 

Restart the VM but leave the Installation disk image connected. After clicking away the the CD-ROM dialog, click inside the VM guest window to capture mouse and keyboard - it should freeze the timer count-down. The bios.bootdelay = "10000" in the .vmx settings file should help to accomplish this. 

Press ENTER and keep hitting the ESC key until you get to the Darwin boot menu. You can also hold down the ESC key but then you have to for the keyboard buffer to emtpy which can take some time.

Choose option "c" to boot from DVD. Than hit any key to start from DVD.

Failure to accomplish this will boot from the HD and result in an error and message that the VM has shutdown. In such case, reset the VM.

Bbtw, press and hold ctrl and alt keys to regain control of your Windows host system.


8) After selecting the Language, choose Terminal from the Utilities menu, and type the
following commands:

Note: HD is my name of what I used to initialize the harddrive.

# 
# cd /Volumes/HD/System/Library/Extensions
# pwd
/Volumes/HD/System/Library/Extensions
# cp -pR /kext/*.kext ./

# cd /Volumes/HD/
pwd
/Volumes/HD
# mv mach_kernel mach_kernel.apple
# cp /kernel/mach_kernel ./

To fix kernel permissions, quit Temrminal.app and open Disk Utility from the Utilites menu. Select your HD and choose "Repair permissions".

(now could be a good time to create a VM snapshot, just in case).

Quit Disk Utilty, then Quit Installer and chose "Select Startup Disk". Select your HD and click Restart.

9) Continue with the usual guided OSX post installation dialogs following
the Wecome screen, setting up your account, etc.

10) Open Terminal and type the following commands:

$ sudo mv /mach_kernel.apple /mach_kernel

Open the Install DVD from the Finder desktop
Open your "kernel" folder and double-click the "legacy_kernel-.pkg" installer. Simple keep clicking continue until the installer is done.

The installer should set appropriate boot arguments and patch some Apple utilites to work with the AMD CPU. It will leave the original mach_kernel in place, so you can update the system if necessary. You may, however, need to install the appropriate AMD kernel again should you decide to install some system udpates.

Note: Apparently the package installer fails to set the correct boot kernel. This needs to be fixed before the system can be restarted. Failure to accomplish this will result in a fatal error after next sysem restart and automatic shutdown of the VM. 

Type the follwowing into the terminal window. Be carefull to type exactly as shown and pay attention to include or not to include the .plist extension.

$ sudo defaults write /Volumes/HD/Library/Preferences/SystemConfiguration/com.apple.Boot Kernel legacy_kernel
$ sudo plutil -convert xml1 /Volumes/HD/Library/Preferences/SystemConfiguration/com.apple.Boot.plist
$ sudo chmod 644 /Volumes/HD/Library/Preferences/SystemConfiguration/com.apple.Boot.plist

$ cat /Volumes/HD/Library/Preferences/SystemConfiguration/com.apple.Boot.plist

Verify you see Kernel legacy_kernel.

11) Eject the DVD and select shutdown from the Apple menu.

Edit your VM machine settings and put the CD/DVD back to the default physical device.
You may also edit the VM configuraiton file (.vmx) and remove the bios.bootdelay = "10000" setting.


Updating to Snow Leopard 10.6.8

I'm not sure the following is the best way to do it, but it worked for me.

1) Download the appropriate 10.6.8 AMD kernel as previously mentioned. 

2) Select "Software Update" from the Apple Finder menu. 
When the udpate prompts to reboot, select "not now".

3) Run the AMD kernel package.

4) Select "software update" again and choose "restart". It will continue to install 
   some more updates.

5) The system will automatically restart. Run the AMD kernel package again. 

You can set the "force 64 bit" option. While the host system, can be 32-bit, a 64-bit guest OS is required to take advantage of hardware assisted virtualization (AMD-v), which can improve performance quite drastically.

6) You can continue with software updates. It's probably a good idea to run the AMD kernel package again to perform any outstanding software patches.


As far as I can tell it's working fine. Networking is all I need and works out of the box. If you need sound, etc. you will have to install additional kexts, e.g. voodoo.