I’ll tell you how to access a macOS operating system from Windows 11, thanks to a virtual machine like VirtualBox, although you will have to overcome some obstacles inherent to Apple and Microsoft systems.
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Virtual machines, also called VMware one of the indispensable tools if you need to have a controlled environment, as they will allow you to launch operating systems other than the proprietary one on a computer.
In this sense, they are commonly used by developers and programmers who want to review different sections of a system without affecting the hardware from which it is launched, although in any case, the VM will use your computer’s resources.
In addition, cybersecurity teams also use them to simulate downloads in this type of environment, although if you don’t have much experience yet, it is best not to try downloading any type of malware, as VMs are not 100% secure either.
Although if you want to try macOS, Apple’s computer operating system, VMs are the best option available. In my case, I’ve been using a macOS Catalina ISO since Windows 11 on an Asus laptop—it’s important to know the manufacturer, as you’ll need to make changes to the UEFI/BIOS.
Review BIOS/UEFI settings for macOS vs. Windows
The first essential step to be able to create a virtual machine in Windows 11 is to configure BIOS virtualization—or UEFI on the most modern computers—which will depend on the processor that your PC has, in addition to the manufacturer.
There are different ways to access the configuration of the BIOS settings, although the easiest is to follow these steps, in this example, with a laptop from the manufacturer Asus, although the others are very similar:
- Enter the Windows Settings menu and select the System option.
- Choose the menu labeled Recovery, click the Restart Now button in the Advanced Startup tab, and agree to the system reboot in Advanced Mode.
- Once your PC has restarted, a window will appear with different options, in which you will have to select the Troubleshooting tab and, later, Advanced Options.
- If you’ve reached the correct menu, you’ll need to see several options, such as system repair or restore, advanced troubleshooting using the command console, or the one you have to choose in this case, called UEFI Firmware Settings or something similar.
- As soon as you choose the latter, the PC will load the BIOS interface, in which you will have to select Advanced Options and enable virtualization, which in my case has been with an AMD processor, so I have activated the SVM submenu – called Intel (VMS) for that manufacturer.
With this, there shouldn’t be any problem accessing a virtual machine with Windows 11, although you could appear a few if you don’t choose to disable memory integrity from the settings beforehand.
To resolve any issues, install VirtualBox after performing the following steps: Go to Windows 11 Settings; access Security and privacy; under Device Security, turn off the Core Isolation option called Memory Integrity.
This will allow you to access a virtual machine without possible error codes afterwards, although it will also affect the security of your device.
Successfully install VirtualBox on Windows 11
One of the most popular virtual machines is VirtualBox, thanks to the fact that it is quite accessible to the general public and, in addition, it is completely free.
To access it, the first thing you will have to do is download here the official tool for the operating system from which you are going to launch the VM; in my case, Windows 11, although you can choose the one you prefer: macOS—Intel and Apple chip—Linux or Solaris distributions.
In addition, you will have to download the extension package that appears next to the packages of each platform.
After you have downloaded the main installation file, accept the terms and follow the different steps that the VirtualBox wizard offers you. From here, the difficulty increases slightly due to some features derived from the Apple ecosystem.
Find an Apple macOS ISO file
The real odyssey begins here for several reasons. The first of them is that Apple does not use an ISO for its installation files, but IPSW or DPMG, the latter available for direct download from the official website of the Apple company, which you can access from here.
Here is the second problem, as you will have to convert this type of DPMG file into an ISO that the VM can recognize; as a recommendation, it is best to use the AnyBurn tool and select the Convert Image option, which will save said file in the same folder.
If you prefer to download an ISO file as such, it is best to go to a reputable site. Here you could choose to search old Internet Archive repositories, although during the test for this content, the site had been hacked, and, for security, the developers blocked certain features.
You will need the ISO file to tell VirtualBox the directory it needs to access; as for the script file, you will need it depending on whether you use an Intel or AMD processor, in addition to having to edit the term “Mac” of the command by the specific title you have given to your virtual machine.
However, to do this, it must first be created.
Create a macOS virtual machine in VirtualBox
As I mentioned at the beginning, in this case I’m going to use the macOS Catalina ISO file, a system that Apple initially released in October 2019, as other later versions have given me a lot of problems.
The latest version of VirtualBox makes it quite easy to create and configure a new virtual machine, although if you prefer to use another one, the file will be used to create your own.
To install this macOS VM on Windows, follow these steps:
- Open VirtualBox and select the New option in the top menu, which will bring up a new window with the VM-specific settings, in this case, mac OS Catalina.
- In the name menu, type Mac OS Catalina, which will update the Type and Version tabs below; either way, in the ISO Image option, choose the ISO directory I mentioned earlier. Here, remember changing the term “Mac” in the script file to the exact title of this step, “Mac OS Catalina,” on all command lines where it is marked under quotation marks.
- In the next step, choose the base memory you want to allocate as well as the processors, a value that should never exceed the green line that appears for your hardware.
- When you move to the next window, choose the option Create a virtual disk now” and select the size you want to assign to your disk. In this tutorial, the size I’ve assigned is 200 gigabytes, with 10 gigabytes of RAM and 6 CPUs.
Once you’ve completed these steps, which are the basic ones, the VM could cause problems. Some are specific to the tool, others are derived from errors in the installation and configuration, and even others are associated with the version of the OS you are testing.
Be that as it may, it is best to try different solutions, from checking the USB drivers—swapping the USB 1.1 (OHCI) and USB 3.0 (xHCI) options in case this is the problem or checking that Hyper-V does not interfere with the VM—using the following command in the console with administrator permissions: bcdedit /set hypervisorlaunchtype off.
As a general recommendation, before changing anything on your PC, make a backup; if it is your first time, additionally, it is best to try a computer that you no longer use so that you anticipate the problems that may arise during the installation and configuration of your virtual machine.
