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How to Install MacOS Big Sur in VirtualBox on Windows

By AndroidGreek Team
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It is a great operating system to use. Windows 10. Every operating system has its quirks and annoyances, right? It’s still possible to shop around even if you’re bound to Microsoft and Windows 10. In this guide, we share “How to Install MacOS Big Sur in VirtualBox on Windows.”

VirtualBox requirements for running macOS

It’s going to be a long process, but we’ll make it as easy as possible for you. To get started, you’ll need to download VirtualBox and some additional essential files. You can download the necessary files from the following links to get macOS Big Sur running on your VirtualBox virtual machine without any issues. To download macOS Big Sur, you will need to obtain an ISO file yourself. If you have an ISO of another macOS release, you can also use that.

VirtualBox’s performance depends on the speed of the computer running it, so the faster the computer, the better macOS will run virtualized.

Installing macOS Big Sur on Windows using VirtualBox

As soon as you have downloaded all the necessary files to your computer, you can begin the procedure. Only educational purposes are served by this tutorial.

  1. You will need to install VirtualBox software on your computer. Once you have downloaded the VirtualBox Extension Pack, click on it.
  2. VirtualBox on Windows will open with a pop-up prompting you to install the extension pack. To complete this step, click “Install.”.
  3. The extension pack has been successfully installed. You are now ready to create your virtual machine. Using the VirtualBox software, click on “New.”.
  4. Give your virtual machine a valid name here. Here is an example of “macOS Big Sur.” Make sure Mac OS X is selected as the type and the 64-bit version is selected as the version. To move on to the next step, click “Expert mode.”.
  5. In this step, you’ll select the amount of RAM or memory that will be allocated to your virtual machine. You should set half of your total system RAM for the guest OS. Select “Create a virtual hard disc now” and click “Create.”.
  6. By using the slider, you can adjust the size of the virtual hard disk. Regardless of how much free storage space you have on your computer, we recommend allocating 100 GB for the virtual machine. Click on “Create” after selecting “VMDK (Virtual Machine Disc)” as the hard disc file type.
  7. As shown in the screenshot below, click on “Settings” in VirtualBox.
  8. Click on “Processor” from the top menu of the “System” category. You can adjust the processor allocation using the slider. You should allocate half of your processor’s cores to the virtual machine. VirtualBox will display a 4-core/8-thread processor as 8 CPU cores if you have a 4-core/8-thread processor. Then you can allocate four cores to the processor.
  9. In the left pane, click “Display” and move the slider for “Video Memory” to the right.
  10. Click on “Empty” under Storage Devices under the “Storage” category. From the drop-down menu, select “Create a Virtual Optical Disc” under the optical disc icon on the right.
  11. When you use File Explorer to download macOS Big Sur ISO files, click “Add.” Click on “Choose” and select the ISO file.
  12. You can now exit the VirtualBox settings and close the VirtualBox application by clicking “OK.”.
  13. Start the “Command Prompt” programme on your PC. Make sure Command Prompt is running as an administrator.
  14. Get the VirtualBox macOS code from GitHub. Paste them into Notepad after copying them from there. You will need to edit the codes to match the conditions of your macOS VM.
    • Edit the first line if you installed VirtualBox at a different location.
    • Your virtual machine name should be macOS, the name you gave this VM.
  15. Run the Command Prompt as an administrator. Enter the first line of code. By doing this, you will change the base directory at the command prompt to the directory where you installed VirtualBox. Then copy, paste, and run each line individually at the command prompt. 

Big Sur macOS installation

  1. Open VirtualBox again after closing the Command Prompt. Select your macOS VM and click Start.
  2. There will be a lot of white text on a black background. It may take a few minutes to complete this process. It’s probably not going to work if the white text and black background step lasts more than 15-20 minutes. There will be an Apple icon and a progress bar. You’re probably going to succeed if you get this far. 
  3. The next screen is the language screen. To access the macOS Recovery screen, select the language you prefer. 
  4. Choose Disc Utility from the menu.
  5. Select Erase on the Disc Utility screen for VBOX HARDDISK MEDIA. 
  6. You will be asked to confirm that you want to delete it. It is also necessary to rename the volume. It doesn’t matter what the name is. To continue, select Erase.
  7. To continue, select Done once the volume has been erased and renamed.
  8. Disc Utility should be closed.
  9. Continue by selecting Install macOS Big Sur on the Recovery screen.
  10. You are asked to continue again. You will be asked to agree to the software license agreement (SLA) twice. You can continue if you agree.
  11. Choose the disc on which macOS Big Sur will be installed. You should only see your macOS disc, so click on it. Click Continue to continue.
  12. The installation begins. There may be about 12 to 18 minutes left on the screen. This part can take an hour, so it’s not correct. 
  13. A black screen with white text will appear, then a grey screen with the Apple logo that says, “Less than a minute remaining…” There is much more time left.
  14. The Select Your Country or Region screen will appear eventually. Now you’re in the setup of your newly installed macOS. Set up the system.
  15. After you’ve completed the setup, take a snapshot of the freshly installed state. If something goes wrong with the macOS VM in the future, you can easily revert to it.

MacOS Virtual Machine Resolution Change

Also, you can choose a higher resolution than the default in VirtualBox.

  1. Exit VirtualBox and shut down the macOS virtual machine. 
  2. As an administrator, open the Command Prompt.
  3. Locate the location where VirtualBox is installed.
  4. The following commands should be entered:
cd C:\Program Files\Oracle\ VirtualBox
VBoxManage setextradata "macOS Big Sur" VBoxInternal2/EfiGraphicsResolution 1920x1080

As the last part of the command, 1920×1080 is the resolution. It can be changed to any of the 1280×720, 1920×1080, 2560×1440, 2048×1080, 3840×2160, 5120×2880, or 7680×4320 supported resolutions. However, some may not work for you. To ensure the change is effective, restart your macOS VM and VirtualBox after the command completes.