In our previous post, we have shown you how to install macOS Sierra 10.12 on VMware, and now in this article, I’m going to show you how to install macOS Sierra 10.12 on VirtualBox on Windows 10. Apple has announced the next version of its Mac operating system “macOS Sierra”. Of course, the real change is that, after fifteen years, Apple has finally ditched the “OS X” moniker. All things old are new again, and the new operating system will only call “macOS.” So, I’m not going to discuss anymore regarding Apple’s new release “macOS Sierra” instead; I’m going to walk you through installing macOS Sierra on VirtualBox on Windows operating system.

Update: Before we get started, let me mention that several versions of macOS have come out since macOS Sierra and we have already created a step by step guides to install them on VMware or VirtualBox. So if you want to install the newer versions of macOS then please check out the links below:

System Requirements

Before we start, make sure to read the following requirements. Please do not skip this step because it’ll help you to successfully install macOS Sierra on VirtualBox on Windows 10 PC.

Minimum 2 GB memory (Recommended 8GB or higher)

memory (Recommended 8GB or higher) Minimum 2 cores of processors (Recommended 4 cores or higher)

of processors (Recommended 4 cores or higher) Hard disk free space 20 GB ( Recommended 100GB or higher )

Recommended 100GB or higher Your system should support Intel or AMD VT (Virtualization Technology)

(Virtualization Technology) Intel/AMD VT (Virtualization Technology) Should be enabled from BIOS setup

Required: If you haven’t already then you should enable Virtualization Technology (aka Intel VT or AMD-V).

Furthermore, it’s highly recommended that you install macOS Sierra on SSD (Solid State Drive) instead of HDD (Hard Disk Drive) because you will have a much faster performance with SSD rather than HDD

Steps to Install macOS Sierra on VirtualBox Using VMDK

Download the Prerequisites Install VirtualBox on Windows / PC Install & Update VirtualBox Extension (Optional) Create a New Virtual Machine for macOS Sierra Execute the VirtualBox Code Perform a Clean Installation of macOS Sierra Update macOS Sierra to the Latest Version (Optional)

Step 1: Download the Prerequisites

To install macOS Sierra on VirtualBox on Windows, you must download the following files and read the step by step guide to avoid any problems. If you miss any of the steps below, then you might be unsuccessful in running the macOS Sierra on VirtualBox.

Step 2: Install VirtualBox on Windows 10

From the “Download the Prerequisites” section of this post, you should have downloaded VirtualBox and if you didn’t, download VirtualBox latest version and install it on your Windows system. If you’ve already installed VirtualBox, then you can skip this step. Otherwise, follow the steps below to install VirtualBox on your Windows machine.

On the welcome Wizard page, click Next. Keep the default setting on the Custom Setup page and click Next. Again Click Next to accept the default options unless you want to change something. On the warning Network interface page, just click Yes to process with Virtualbox installation. Click the Install button to install VBox. Again click Yes if required. While installing VBox, you might see a security warning about “Oracle Corporation”. You need to click Install on this page to process with the installation. If you click Don’t install, the installation process will be terminated here and you can’t go ahead. If you see the security warning again click the Install button Finally, click Finish.



Step 3: Install & Update VirtualBox Extension (Optional) This step is not 100% necessary but it’s highly recommended to do this step because macOS Sierra might not function properly on VirtualBox. For this reason, it might cause problems during the installation. Go to the Virtualbox download page. Under VirtualBox 6.1.10 Oracle VM VirtualBox Extension Pack section, click All supported platforms to download the latest version of Virtualbox Extension Pack. Once you’ve downloaded the Extension pack. Now, follow the steps below to update the Virtualbox extension pack. Open up VirtualBox, navigate to Tools>Pereferences>Extensions. Click on Plus (+) icon and select VirtualBox extension which you’ve downloaded at the beginning of this section. Click Install or Upgrade and then Agree to the terms and conditions. Click the OK button. Finally, you should see something like the screenshots below.



Step 4: Create a New Virtual Machine for macOS Sierra

After installing VirtualBox, now you will need to create a new virtual machine on Virtualbox. Creating a virtual machine for macOS Sierra is kind of the same as you create a VM for the Windows Operating system or Linux but with some minor changes. In this post, I’ll outline those changes. Follow the steps below to create a new virtual machine for macOS Sierra using the VMDK file.

Open up your VirtualBox application and click New. Click Expert Mode and select the following options then click Create. Type a suitable Virtual Machine Name. Virtual Machine Location (a separate drive is recommended). Type (Mac OS X). Version (Mac OS X 64-bit). Memory 4 GB (recommended 8 GB or higher). Hard Disk: Select Use an existing virtual machine hard disk file. Click on the Folder icon to browse the macOS Sierra VMDK file. Click Add and select the Sierra VMDK image

It’s time to edit the virtual machine to make it works. Select macOS Sierra VM and click on Settings. Now, bring the following changes to macOS Sierra VM. Under System>Motherboard, increase the Base Memory to 10248MB. However, you can use a bit lower memory if your system doesn’t have this much RAM. Uncheck Floppy from the Boot Order section. Under the Processor tab, increase the processors to 4 or higher.

On the Display window, increase the Video Memory to 128MB.

Step 5: Execute the VirtualBox Code

Once you’ve created and customized your virtual machine, it’s time to run some codes in order to install macOS Sierra on VirtualBox. First, you should note your virtual machine name because later on, we will use it. Open the VirtualBox code which you should have downloaded from the “Download the Prerequisites” section of this post. If you’ve not downloaded, doesn’t matter. Just use the following code.

Note: Before, you execute the code by command prompt. You should read the following steps.

cd "C:\Program Files\Oracle\VirtualBox\" VBoxManage.exe modifyvm "VM Name" --cpuidset 00000001 000106e5 00100800 0098e3fd bfebfbff VBoxManage setextradata "VM Name" "VBoxInternal/Devices/efi/0/Config/DmiSystemProduct" "iMac19,1" VBoxManage setextradata "VM Name" "VBoxInternal/Devices/efi/0/Config/DmiSystemVersion" "1.0" VBoxManage setextradata "VM Name" "VBoxInternal/Devices/efi/0/Config/DmiBoardProduct" "Mac-AA95B1DDAB278B95" VBoxManage setextradata "VM Name" "VBoxInternal/Devices/smc/0/Config/DeviceKey" "ourhardworkbythesewordsguardedpleasedontsteal(c)AppleComputerInc" VBoxManage setextradata "VM Name" "VBoxInternal/Devices/smc/0/Config/GetKeyFromRealSMC" 1

When you opened VirtualBox code via notepad or any other text editor, use the replace function of the program to Replace the “VM Name” with your virtual machine name. See the picture below to get an idea of how to do it. Now, you’ve two choices. First, if you want to fix your macOS Sierra screen resolution in the first place. You should also execute the following code. You have to change “VM Name” with your virtual machine name and HxV with a screen resolution such as “1280×720“. For more supported screen resolution on VirtualBox and detailed guide, visit fix macOS Catalina screen resolution on VirtualBox. VBoxManage setextradata "VM Name" VBoxInternal2/EfiGraphicsResolution HxV Important Note: We highly recommend to quit the VirtualBox program before executing the code. If you don’t do it, your virtual machine might not proceed to the installation step. Once you replaced the “VM Name” with your virtual machine name, then run the code one by one via command prompt (CMD). You can open the command prompt by pressing the Windows+X key in Windows 10 and select Command Prompt from the list. Or simply press Windows key and type CMD. Click Run As Administrator and click Yes . Now, that you’ve executed the macOS Sierra VirtualBox code. Open the VirtualBox app then click the Start button to power on the VM. A black screen with a lot of white text will appear on the screen. Just wait for a few minutes and the macOS Sierra installation will start.



Step 6: Perform a Clean Installation of macOS Sierra

Once you hit enter, a whole bunch of code will run on the screen, but you should not worry about it. Wait for a few minutes, and you should see the macOS Sierra installation window. Have a cup of coffee until the installation complete. It’s going to take around 15 minutes to finish.

Choose your Country and click on Continue. Pick a keyboard Layout and click on Continue. Now, select Don’t transfer information to this Mac and click on Continue. Uncheck Enable location services and click on Continue. In this step, you have to Sign in with your Apple ID. If you don’t have one, create a free Apple ID by following this article, “how to create an Apple ID on iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch”. We recommend to not log in with your Apple ID at this point. Just select Don’t Sign in and click on Continue and Skip. Agree to the Terms and Conditions. Fill out the Full name, Account name, Password, Hint, and click Continue to create your user account for macOS Sierra. Select your time zone and click Continue Select the options for Diagnostics & Usage and click on Continue. Don’t set up Siri at this point. Wait a little while to Setting Up Your Mac. Then it will run on the desktop of the macOS Sierra.

Important: For any kind of error while installing Mac OS X El Capitan and macOS Sierra visit this article.

Step 7: Update macOS Sierra to the Latest Version (Optional)

You should do this step if your macOS Sierra is not updated and not the latest version. So, you can update it by following the instructions below.

Click on the Apple logo at the top-left corner of your screen. Select System Preferences from the list. Under System Preferences, click on the App Store. On the App Store window, you’ll see Software Updates are available. Click Check Now/Show Updates. Now, you should see different kinds of updates are available. Just click Update All. Click Download & Restart. Wait for couple of minutes so that the update should be installed. It might take 5-15 minutes to download all updates. However, it depends on your internet speed. Once the update is downloaded, your system will restart automatically. Again wait for 15-20 minutes for update installation. Once the installation update process finishes, you’ll see the macOS Sierra login page. Type your user account name and password and log in. If you check our below screenshot with the one on Step #6 of this guide, the last screenshot. You can check that our macOS Sierra (16G2136) is updated to the latest version.

See Our other Useful Guides:

Conclusion

After performing a clean installation and Setting up your macOS Sierra then you should be able to see macOS Sierra wallpaper. In this step by step guide, I’ve covered the followings;