Hello Khabrovsk residents. Recently I needed to write in Objective C under Mac OS X. My hardware is not the most suitable for all kinds of assemblies, and religion does not allow me to sit completely in this OS. I decided to install Mac OS X on virtual machine Qemu on Linux.

Here's a list of everything I used:

-Gentoo Linux 64 bit
-Qemu 0.10.5
-KVM (Kernel-based Virtual Machine) 88-r1
-KVM support in the Linux kernel
-Intel-enabled processor Virtualization Technology (in my case it's Core2Duo E6400)
-Linux kernel>=2.6.20
-Assembly Mac OS X iATKOS v7 (Leopard 10.5.7)

Let's move on to configuration, you need to add KVM in the kernel. Download the sources, unpack, launch make menuconfig:
Processor type and features->Paravirtualized guest support
We note:
-KVM paravirtualized clock
-KVM Guest support
-Paravirtualization layer for spinlocks

Next, a new Virtualization option appears in the kernel settings root
Let's go there and note:
-Kernel-based Virtual Machine (KVM) support
-KVM for Intel processors support
-KVM trace support
-PCI driver for virtio devices
-Virtio balloon driver

We assemble, install, and reboot with the new kernel.
Now install Qemu with KVM support, and KVM itself
USE="kvm" emerge qemu
emerge kvm

Now let's move on to shamanism with a virtual machine.
Create a virtual hard disk:
qemu-img create -f raw macos.disk 30G

If we are going to run Qemu not as root, we need to give rights to other users to read/write to the device /dev/kvm:
chmod 0666 /dev/kvm

Let's launch:
kvm -boot d -hda macos.disk -m 900 -net nic,model=rtl8139 -net tap -usb -no-reboot -no-shutdown -vga std -cpu core2duo -cdrom 10.5.7.iso
-hda path to our virtual hard disk
-cdrom let to the image
-no-shutdown -no-reboot necessary so that in case of an error the emulator window “freezes” and the error can be read
-net nic,model=rtl8139 emulate network card Realtek 8139
-net tap In order for the guest system to see the host network, a TAP device is needed

-m 900 amount of memory allocated to the guest system
-boot d boot from seedrom
-usb USB support
-cpu core2duo Core2Duo processor emulation

Loading the disk. We mark the hard drive using Disk Utility(select from the menu above).

Setting up drivers.
Before you press the button Install pay attention to the button Customize

Things we need to choose:
x86 ACPI
Disabler
OHR
Remove TyMCE
CardBus
USB
Intel SATA/IDE
Kernels
Apple PS/2

Can be installed. We wait about 30 minutes.
Mac OS X is installed, setting up.
Now in the launch line we change -boot d to -boot c to boot from the hard drive.
Loading up. Now we need to come up with something with the network.
Searching on the Internet PCGenRTL8139Ethernet.kext, install it, very easy to install using the kextinstaller program. While there is no network, the necessary files can be transferred to the system via a flash drive, for example, add -hdb /dev/sdb(path to the flash drive device)
Reboot the guest OS.
Now for the network to work in Mac OS X, you need to go to network management, select the Ethernet device, turn it off (Off), and then turn it on and configure the desired IP (for example, 192.168.1.1), and configure the tap0 device in the hosting system:
ifconfig tap0 192.168.1.2

When switching from Windows to Mac OS, perhaps the most common first thought is - how will I live without my favorite Windows programs?

There are a sufficient number of ways to solve this issue and this is good news! Each method is good in its own way and there are both paid methods so are free. First, you should decide whether you really want to use Win programs under Mac OS? Perhaps now you think this way, but over time, I assure you, Windows windows against the background of Mac OS will seem miserable to you and the search for alternatives will begin in order to move away from Windows systems and forget it like a terrible buggy dream.

Well, while you still don’t have such thoughts and a certain feeling of uncertainty in the selection of alternatives remains, let’s look at one of the good options for launching programs for Windows under Mac OS.

Let's take a little look at the options for Windows emulation and together we'll figure out which option is solved by the utility in the review

- Boot Camp- installs Windows as the second operating system and does not allow you to use two operating systems at the same time. This method is good because Windows uses all the computer’s resources to the maximum, in particular, it makes it possible to play.

- Installation of virtual machines Windows/Linux etc... This method allows you to start Windows in separate window or organize it as a separate desktop. This method is good because we can use several OSes at the same time and even switch to Unity mode, which allows you to open Windows programs like regular Mac OS programs, i.e. you will see on your screen open source software, without worker windows desktop. This method is quite good and will suit owners powerful computers. The disadvantages include the inability to install “heavy” 3D games, because The emulator does not fully support your video card. Same for the disadvantages this method This can be attributed to the excessively occupied space of the emulated system and the “eating up” of a certain percentage of your computer resources (RAM, processor).

- Installation of Windows emulators. This option is the most optimal if you need to constantly run some kind of non-resource-intensive program, for which there are no alternatives for Mac OS, although today emulators allow you to run “heavy” 3D games (but I have not tested this). Emulators are good because for each program they create a kind of “bottle” in which the program itself is located, as well as vital important files to launch it. This method allows you to significantly save space and resources on your computer.

Today we will introduce you to the third option “Installing emulators in Windows”(later and everyone else).

There are options for paid and free emulators. Free ones usually require a lot of fiddling and figuring out how to use them. In paid ones, it all comes down to simple mouse clicks.

One of these emulators is CrossOver ($60) and is considered the best tool today!

The first huge plus of the program is support for the Russian language. You will not have any difficulties using the program and now I will show and tell you everything.

The program does not have outstanding interfaces (outwardly it reminds me of the good old one), because... You know what its main task is. After installing and launching the program in the system menu we see:

Let's try to take any example program, for example the VKMusic program for Windows. Download installation file VKMusic_4.45.exe

Next, in the system menu, select “Configure” and “Install software”

This window opens. There is a lot in the list of supported programs. You can bother and pay attention to it. Even if the program you want to install is not in the list, you will still install it and it will work, but for this it is important to scroll down the list and in the " tab Unsupported apps" choose " Other Application"

Next, go to the “Select an installer” section.

I think comments here will be unnecessary. We simply indicate the path to the program installation file, in our case VKMusic_4.45.exe in the Finder.

pay attention to the label exe file, it is in the form of the CrossOver logo. In fact, to install the program, you could immediately click on it and it would produce automatic installation However, my task is to introduce you to the program so that you can navigate it.

So, you have selected the installation file. Now you can safely press the “Install” button in the very bottom right corner and CrossOver will create separate bottle and will install it into it. However! Before installation, you have the opportunity to select the axis under which the program runs (xp, win2000, etc.), as well as rename the bottle itself. To do this, go to the section “Select a bottle into which to install”

Here you choose which OS your program runs under and enter the name of the bottle.

If you have installed games before and want to store them in one bottle, then select a ready-made bottle with installed game and the program.

Is it better to create new bottles or keep everything in one?
when creating a bootle, as I wrote above, vital system files from Windows are added to it. Of course, a program that takes up 12 MB will weigh 300 megabytes, due to the added system files. If you create new bottles, they will waste the disk space of your HDD, but again, these are all minor things. I prefer not to bother and create new ones every time, so that later I can delete the unnecessary ones with peace of mind.

And here is the installation process itself:

1. A bottle is created

2. The program installation starts in the same way as on Windows. I didn’t recognize the coding of Russian words, no big deal.

just install it like regular program Windows. the path in this case is inside the bottle itself, there is no point in changing it.

Ready.

Now we try to launch the installed Windows programs y:


That's all love is.

P.S
1. A shortcut to the installed Windows program is also added to “Mission Control” Mac OS and looks like a normal Mac OS application:

2. if you need to change it manually internal files programs in the bootle, for example, transferring game saves to the program folder or something else, this is done simply:

3. Where does CrossOver store bottles?

4. Is it possible to install programs that do not have an installation?
Possible!

4

What's the point of using OS X versus Windows? As a person who lives under Windows, but regularly finds himself using a poppy for 3-5 slaves. days I want to understand. For what? Just don’t talk about a computer with a human face, I want to hear something practical - this is more convenient/faster, this excellent software is not available for Windows, etc.

@direless, it’s just for people to try what and with what before buying a Mac. Or a person at work on a Mac, can’t stand Windows, but hasn’t saved up on a Mac yet at home. So he will launch his native system on the Internet, if only for the sake of not seeing the vile Internet exporter. In short, once they did it, it means someone needs it. I wrote the first thing that came to mind, there are probably other reasons why this is necessary.

@koreasony,

“Just try” is for children. No matter what the child scratches, as long as time passes. I’m still waiting for understanding - why Makos is cool, I want enlightenment! Then we'll roll.

@direless,
There's a whole section on this. Saturate yourself with information.

@Artem Bausov, everything under this tag resembles shamanism with a tambourine, because I look at the titles and this is what I see: how to shamanize with an automate to do ordinary simple things, like on/off simple things, like on. the mode is for the Mac to work when the laptop lid is closed, a file viewer, etc.
Dubious advantages!)))
Nothing! I myself am the owner of several poppies, it’s just that now the advantages of Macos have become worthless. All professional software has been trashed (I'm talking about aperture, logic and final cat), the rest works great on Windows and here.

@dimixx, aperture professional software??? they didn't fuck him, he was shit.
or am I wrong? tell me why it was good, seriously, maybe I didn’t understand something. I did it twice, but all times it ended with him making some kind of trash out of my good collection. it's for amateurs. I don’t use anything other than bridge for navigation. and of course edit in the shop

@direless, I once had a netbook, it initially had Windows 7 Starter, well, it was very hard to work with, the Atom processor was weak. I decided to hang it up, it got better.
somehow an image of a MacOSI was circulating on the Internet of a netbook specially created for this purpose, by the way, it was called Samsung NC10.
As soon as I installed it, everything worked, I felt the speed of operation compared to Xpi and Seven. That's when I met Makos.
After that I decided to buy a MacBook.
The speed of operation and all the other goodies became the reason to buy a MacBook as a novice Mac owner)))

@direless, until you try, you won’t understand... there are things that are much easier to solve on a Mac than on Win. But, there are familiar tasks that are difficult for the user to solve on a Mac (in the usual way). As a rule, highly specialized application software cannot be launched on a Mac (often this software is under Win 98, XP, NT, etc.)… I have 14 years of experience in using Windows, and 3 years on Macs (after Windows). I switched first at home, then at the office. I don't regret a minute. I forgot what reinstalling the system is. Windows needs to be rearranged once every year and a half. The Mac axis simply moves to a new computer with all the settings, files, etc. Automator helps at work... I gave up a lot of software for Windows altogether. On a Mac there are many microprograms for one or two actions with a file (converters, taggers, etc.). I have a computer on Windows 8.1. Sometimes I turn it on and see what’s new. I'm waiting for 10 to review. In win latest versions The interface has become friendlier and features from the Mac axis appear there too. I think soon there won’t be much difference in terms of convenience. But the vulnerability and cost of Windows will always be higher than the Mac axis)

The settings in the next window are quite important. Click on the Customize button, which is located at the bottom left.

If you have an AMD processor:

• Select the AMD option under System.

If you have an Intel processor:

• All Updates are selected at the top.
• In the Bootloaders combo box, select newest Chamelion.
• In the Kernels combo box, select Legacy Kernel.

Then click Done and continue installation using the Install button. To speed up installation, select Skip at the disk check stage.

After the message “Installation finished” and the reboot timer appear, press Right Ctrl. Then select Devices in the top toolbar of Virtual Box, click CD/DVD Devices and select Unmount CD/DVD Device. Then go to Machine and click on Reset. After that, you will see the chameleon bootloader and OS X loading.

Once the download is complete, you will see the OS X Settings screen! You are one step away from success. However, I found a small pitfall in that the virtualization only works on one core. Maybe it's because of the distribution, maybe not. Other problems that have not yet been resolved are the sound not working and the inability to change the display resolution. However, in all other respects this is a complete virtual computer on Mac OS X!

Addition

There are some solutions regarding audio and resolution.

To change the resolution, open Finder and select the OS X drive on the left. Open the Extras directory. Right click on com.Apple.Boot.plist and open it in TextEdit. At the very beginning, insert the following:

or any other suitable resolution. Select "Save as" and save to your desktop by unchecking the Unicode box and choosing the name com.apple.boot.plist. After that, drag this icon from the desktop to the extras directory, overwriting original file, entering your password if prompted.

Do not install system updates. If you need updates, you need another ISO image, which already has updates installed. If you install updates directly from Apple, they will conflict with special patches and the Chameleon bootloader. This is just a warning.

And for those of you who are having difficulty booting, try a different version of Chameleon or a different OS kernel. Sometimes it helps. If you are experiencing USB related errors, try disabling USB in the VirtualBox settings and see the result.

Free mac emulator in windows

Sometimes you want to try something new operating system to give a practical impression. I've done this more than once, for example. LifeHacker recently wrote about running a Mac OS X emulator on Windows. Why not look at the Mac first and then criticize or praise it with reason? In turn, for better understanding, I translate the article from English.

We have already seen how to run Snow Leopard in VMWare. But virtual VMWare machine- paid, you can use the free VirtualBox instead. In addition to the virtual machine itself, we also need an ISO image of OSX86. The Hazard group has posted a well-configured installer Snow Leopard, just search for it on Google. Of course, if you think that downloading a pirated image will have a bad effect on your karma, then there is nothing stopping you from buying it.

Once you have both the virtual machine and the image, install Virtual Box, launch this emulator and select New in the top left of the toolbar.

In the dialog box that appears, select the settings as in the following picture and click Next.

In the next window, select the size random access memory. Most likely, 1024MB will be more than enough.

After clicking Next, create the virtual disk. A dynamic disk size of 20GB will be quite enough. A dynamic type virtual disk does not take up extra space on your hard drive, but is slightly inferior in performance to a static one virtual disk. For us this is not significant. Click Next.

A window will appear with summary information about the virtual machine being created. Click Finish.

Now select the virtual machine settings from the Settings option on the toolbar.

In the window that appears, remove the Enable EFI option.

In the same dialog box, select Storage. Click on the word Empty next to the virtual DVD drive.

Then click on the green plus icon located at the bottom of this window. In the dialog that opens, select the OSX86 ISO image that you downloaded earlier and click OK.

Now in the main VirtualBox window, click the Start button (located on the left).

In the emerging command line type -v and press enter. This is necessary for detailed diagnostics if something goes wrong. Next, the download will continue and you should see a screen with a choice of language. Select your language and click Next. If, for some reason, the mouse does not respond to movement, use the keyboard shortcut Right-Ctrl-I. Click Continue and Agree. Then launch Disk Utility by going to Utilities in the menu.

On this screen, select 20GB VBOX HARDDISK. Click the Erase tab, enter OSX in the Name field and click the Erase button. The disk preparation process will not take much time. When finished, select Disk Utility from the menu and click on Quit. This will take you back to the installer, where you select the disk you just created and click Continue.

Even the most ardent OS X fans sometimes need to take advantage of the “enemy” Windows. There are different situations: from the need to use banking clients and corporate software to launching games. There are many ways to run applications written for Windows, using: third party tools, as well as Apple branded solutions.

Conventionally, they can be divided into three categories: full installation of Windows, use of virtual machines and emulators software environment Windows. Each option has its own advantages and disadvantages, so we will look at them all so that you can choose the one that is most convenient for you.

Installing Windows using Boot Camp

Especially for those unfortunate souls who are unable to break all ties with Windows, Apple has created the “Boot Camp Assistant” utility, with which you can prepare your Mac for Windows installation and, in fact, install it. In this case, a separate partition is created on the disk, allowing both operating systems to work independently of each other.

You will need 50 GB free space and boot Windows disk. The installation process itself is very simple, you just need to follow the wizard's prompts and wait for completion. After the reboot, you will have a full-fledged Windows version just like on a regular PC. All you have to do is install the necessary applications or games - and you can use it. You can find out more about the requirements and supported versions.

Benefits of Boot Camp

• Performance. Since all the resources of the Mac are used by only one OS, we get maximum performance.
• Compatibility. Thanks to full-fledged Windows, full compatibility with any applications and games is ensured.

Disadvantages of Boot Camp

• Need to reboot. To start Windows, you will have to restart your Mac every time.
• Lack of integration. Windows does not support the HFS+ file system, which means you won’t be able to access OS X files from it, and vice versa.

Using virtual machines

This method has much in common with the previous one, but is slightly different in implementation. With it we also get a full-fledged OS, but it is installed not on real hardware, but on virtual one. Special software (virtual machine) emulates the hardware platform for running Windows, taking away some of the Mac's resources, and it turns out that one OS runs inside another.

Parallels Desktop

parallels.com

Perhaps the most popular virtual machine among Mac users. Parallels is regularly updated, always works with the latest versions of OS X and Windows, and has additional functions like a hybrid mode, when OS X and Windows interfaces are simultaneously displayed on the screen, and applications are launched regardless of their ownership. In addition, the program can launch Windows from Boot Camp partitions, which is convenient if you need to access any applications or data without rebooting.

The disadvantage of the program is that Parallels is not free. The junior version will cost you $79.99.

VMware Fusion

vmware.com

Another commercial solution for OS virtualization. The key feature of VMware Fusion is the sharing wizard, which allows you to transfer the entire environment from your Windows PC to a virtual machine and continue using applications on your Mac. Installed Windows shares a clipboard with OS X, as well as access to files and network resources. Its applications are fully integrated with OS X features (Spotlight, Mission Control, Exposé). In addition, it is supported Windows startup from the Boot Camp section.

VMware Fusion costs 6,300 rubles, but before purchasing you can explore its capabilities in a free trial version.

If your plans do not include additional expenses for running Windows applications, then your choice is Oracle. Compared to paid analogues, it has much fewer capabilities, but is quite suitable for simple tasks. You shouldn't count on integration with OS X system functions, but basic things like a shared clipboard and access to network resources are available here. The free nature of VirtualBox fully justifies all of its limitations.

Benefits of virtual machines

• Simultaneous operation of two operating systems. You don't need to restart your Mac to run Windows apps.
• File sharing. Since Windows runs inside OS X, support is an issue file systems absent.

Disadvantages of Virtual Machines

• Poor performance. Because Mac resources are shared between the two operating systems, application performance is significantly slower, especially on older computers.
• Compatibility issues. Some applications (most often games) that require direct access to hardware may not work correctly or not work at all.

Using emulators

With emulators, everything is completely different than with virtual machines and Boot Camp. More precisely, they have something in common with virtual machines, only they do not emulate Windows entirely, but only those of it software components that are necessary for work desired application. We will not have a full-fledged OS and access to its functions: we get a certain compatibility layer that allows us to run a Windows application directly in the OS X environment.

All emulators work on the same principle. The installation of the application is initialized via setup.exe, and then during its process the necessary launch parameters are configured and the necessary libraries are automatically loaded. After this, an application icon appears on Launchpad, which will work in the same way as all native OS X programs.

WineBottler

winebottler.kronenberg.org

This emulator can turn an .EXE file into an OS X compatible application. WineBottler also allows you to automatically load some already configured Windows applications. It is completely free and compatible with OS X El Capitan.

Wineskin

Another emulator, which, like the previous one, uses the Wine libraries to create ports. Compared to the previous solution, Wineskin has more settings and allows you to fine-tune the parameters. We talked in detail about its setup and use in.

CrossOver

A commercial emulator whose development team has already adapted and configured many popular Windows applications and games for you. CrossOver has a friendly interface, and also eliminates the need to delve into settings and deal with possible errors. The only negative is that it is paid. The license costs $20.95, but there is a 14-day trial period.

Advantages of emulators

• Need not Windows license. Emulators run applications through a compatibility layer, so licensed copy No OS needed.
• Performance. Again, due to saving resources, which are in virtual machines spent on running a full-fledged Windows, we get more high performance compared to them.

Disadvantages of emulators

• Difficulty setting up. To use Windows applications, you first need to configure them, and this is not always easy, especially with games.
• Compatibility issues. In some cases, applications (usually resource-intensive ones) may not work correctly or not work at all.

What to choose

What to choose in the end from such a variety? There is no clear answer to this question. In each specific case you need to build on your needs, but in general the recommendations are as follows.

• Boot Camp Suitable primarily for gamers, as well as those users who need maximum performance and compatibility with software. We reboot the Mac and we get a full-fledged Windows computer.
• Virtual machines will help out in cases where you need both OSs at the same time. We sacrifice performance, but avoid reboots and get good integration.
• Emulators Can only be recommended for simple tasks and infrequent use. For example, when you need to use a bank client a couple of times a month or occasionally feel nostalgic in your favorite game.

Choose the most suitable option for yourself, and in the comments tell us for what needs you use Windows applications on your Mac and how you launch them.