Virtual Machine OSX is Finally Here!

Virtualbox has finally updated to version 5 and that means virtualised OSX is a thing.  Let’s get straight into it.

1. First things firs, install the Virtualbox 5 software and the extension pack.  It’s there on the download page, so ctrl+f and download/install it.
2. Skip Step 3 and 4 if you have an install CD, otherwise:  Download the OSX Yosemite install from the App Store.  This places the entire 5gb app file into your Applications folder.
3. Run the following commands from Terminal:

   hdiutil attach /Applications/Install\ OS\ X\ Yosemite.app/Contents/SharedSupport/InstallESD.dmg -noverify -nobrowse -mountpoint /Volumes/install_app

   hdiutil convert /Volumes/install_app/BaseSystem.dmg -format UDSP -o /tmp/Yosemite

   hdiutil resize -size 8g /tmp/Yosemite.sparseimage

   hdiutil attach /tmp/Yosemite.sparseimage -noverify -nobrowse -mountpoint /Volumes/install_build

   rm /Volumes/install_build/System/Installation/Packages

   cp -rp /Volumes/install_app/Packages /Volumes/install_build/System/Installation/

   cp -rp /Volumes/install_app/BaseSystem.chunklist /Volumes/install_build

   hdiutil detach /Volumes/install_app

   hdiutil detach /Volumes/install_build

   hdiutil resize -size hdiutil resize -limits /tmp/Yosemite.sparseimage | tail -n 1 | awk '{ print $1 }'b /tmp/Yosemite.sparseimage

   hdiutil convert /tmp/Yosemite.sparseimage -format UDTO -o /tmp/Yosemite

   rm /tmp/Yosemite.sparseimage

   mv /tmp/Yosemite.cdr ~/Desktop/Yosemite.iso

That’s your install media ready.

Fire up Virtualbox, create a new VM and select OSX Yosemite.  Defaults are all fine, except you probably need to turn on 3d acceleration or you won’t be seeing a screen anytime soon.

When you launch it the first time, it’s going to ask for boot media.  Just select the Yosemite.iso we created that’s now sitting on your desktop.  Everything from here is like a normal OSX install.  Have fun.