After a long struggle of 48 hours, I could finally able to install the Apple's latest Mac OS X El Capitan v10.11 on a Virtual Machine (VM). The experiment was conducted on Vmware ESXi 6.0 virtualization platform running over physical IBM Server X3650 M3. Following are the installation steps:
Setting up ESXi for running Apple Mac OS X
Vmware ESXi 6.0 doesn’t support OS X out of the box.
Now, launch the Mac App Store, go to the El Capitan page or Purchased tab and download OS X El Capitan from there. MAS will now download it from the local server at a high speed. Once downloaded, you may proceed with the installation by clicking on Continue when the setup launches. In July, Mac has released their newest beta OS, El Capitan. While users still might experience a few bugs until the official version is released this fall, many of us are quite happy with the overall experience and all the new features. To make the experience even better, there are numerous apps available for the OS. Download El Capitan from the Mac App Store. Head over to your existing OS X environment running 10.9 or later and open the Mac App Store. Search for 'El Capitan' and click Download. The download is completely free if you're running OS X 10.9+. Wait for the download to finish (this could take some time). Format the USB Drive. Jun 11, 2021 Open the disk image, then open the.pkg installer inside the disk image. It installs an app named Install Version Name. Open that app from your Applications folder to begin installing the operating system. MacOS Sierra 10.12 can upgrade El Capitan, Yosemite, Mavericks, Mountain Lion, or Lion.
- So, the first thing you need to do is to customise the hypervisor layer by executing an Unlocker script by insanelymac.com. Please note that you will need to register on the site in order to download the Unlocker tool.
- You need to enable SSH on your ESXi host. In order to do that, login to the host using VMware vShpere Client and navigate to Configuration->Security Profile. From here click on Properties in the upper right corner where it says Services. The dialog Services Properties should appear and from here you can click on SSH->Options and choose Start and stop with host. Click Start and then close all the open dialogs.
- Transfer the Unlocker-files to the host using any SFTP client. Make sure you extract the files somewhere on your client before transfer and connect to the ESXi host using the user root. Once connected navigate to /vmfs/volumes/datastore01/ , replacing datastore01 with your actual datastore name. Create a new folder (mkdir) called tools and transfer your unlockerXXX directory.
- Now cd into the uploaded directory and ensure the ESXi scripts have execute permissions by running chmod +x esxi-install.sh. Now run ./esxi-install.sh in order to install the Unlocker.
- Reboot the ESXi host.
Download and create the bootable OS X El Capitan ISO
Grab the El Capitan installer app from the Apple Appstore. Note, you need a real Mac in order to download and convert the El Capitan installation disk. Once downloaded minimize or close the installer.
Open the terminal and change directory to /tmp using command cd /tmp
Create a new script file: nano ElCapitan.sh
Paste the following into the script file and save:
#!/bin/bash
# Mount the installer image
hdiutil attach /Applications/Install OS X El Capitan.app/Contents/SharedSupport/InstallESD.dmg -noverify -nobrowse -mountpoint /Volumes/install_app
# Create the ElCapitan Blank ISO Image of 7316mb with a Single Partition - Apple Partition Map
hdiutil create -o /tmp/ElCapitan.cdr -size 7316m -layout SPUD -fs HFS+J
# Mount the ElCapitan Blank ISO Image
hdiutil attach /tmp/ElCapitan.cdr.dmg -noverify -nobrowse -mountpoint /Volumes/install_build
# Restore the Base System into the ElCapitan Blank ISO Image
asr restore -source /Volumes/install_app/BaseSystem.dmg -target /Volumes/install_build -noprompt -noverify -erase
# Remove Package link and replace with actual files
rm /Volumes/OS X Base System/System/Installation/Packages
cp -rp /Volumes/install_app/Packages /Volumes/OS X Base System/System/Installation/
# Copy El Capitan installer dependencies
cp -rp /Volumes/install_app/BaseSystem.chunklist /Volumes/OS X Base System/BaseSystem.chunklist
cp -rp /Volumes/install_app/BaseSystem.dmg /Volumes/OS X Base System/BaseSystem.dmg
# Unmount the installer image
hdiutil detach /Volumes/install_app
# Unmount the ElCapitan ISO Image
hdiutil detach /Volumes/OS X Base System/
# Convert the ElCapitan ISO Image to ISO/CD master (Optional)
hdiutil convert /tmp/ElCapitan.cdr.dmg -format UDTO -o /tmp/ElCapitan.iso
# Rename the ElCapitan ISO Image and move it to the desktop
mv /tmp/ElCapitan.iso.cdr ~/Desktop/ElCapitan.iso
Now ensure that the script file has execute permissions by running chmod +x ElCapitan.sh and run with sh ./ElCapitan.sh. This will take some time, so just be patient. Once done it should have created a file called ElCapitan.iso on your desktop.
Create a virtual Mac OS X VM
The next step should be fairly simple if you have used ESXi before. As usual open your datastore and transfer the iso to wherever you normally store your installation files. Then create a new vm, select Typical and you should be able to select Other and then Apple Mac OS X 10.10 (64-bit). Complete the wizard, mount the ISO and install Mac OS X as usual. Please note that you must format the hard drive using the disk utility before it will be visible in the install wizard.
Configure Mac OS X
It’s very important to install the VMware Tools as soon as possible after the install has finished. Without it Mac OS X might not awake from sleep and in general be very unreliable. I also recommend to turn off sleep and the screensaver in settings as these may cause issues.
Finally, reboot and start enjoying your virtual Mac on non-Apple hardware.
These advanced steps are primarily for system administrators and others who are familiar with the command line. You don't need a bootable installer to upgrade macOS or reinstall macOS, but it can be useful when you want to install on multiple computers without downloading the installer each time.
What you need to create a bootable installer
- A USB flash drive or other secondary volume formatted as Mac OS Extended, with at least 14GB of available storage
- A downloaded installer for macOS Big Sur, Catalina, Mojave, High Sierra, or El Capitan
Download macOS
- Download: macOS Big Sur, macOS Catalina, macOS Mojave, or macOS High Sierra
These download to your Applications folder as an app named Install macOS [version name]. If the installer opens after downloading, quit it without continuing installation. To get the correct installer, download from a Mac that is using macOS Sierra 10.12.5 or later, or El Capitan 10.11.6. Enterprise administrators, please download from Apple, not a locally hosted software-update server. - Download: OS X El Capitan
This downloads as a disk image named InstallMacOSX.dmg. On a Mac that is compatible with El Capitan, open the disk image and run the installer within, named InstallMacOSX.pkg. It installs an app named Install OS X El Capitan into your Applications folder. You will create the bootable installer from this app, not from the disk image or .pkg installer.
Use the 'createinstallmedia' command in Terminal
- Connect the USB flash drive or other volume that you're using for the bootable installer.
- Open Terminal, which is in the Utilities folder of your Applications folder.
- Type or paste one of the following commands in Terminal. These assume that the installer is in your Applications folder, and MyVolume is the name of the USB flash drive or other volume you're using. If it has a different name, replace
MyVolume
in these commands with the name of your volume.
Big Sur:*
Catalina:*
Mojave:*
High Sierra:*
El Capitan:
* If your Mac is using macOS Sierra or earlier, include the --applicationpath
argument and installer path, similar to the way this is done in the command for El Capitan.
After typing the command:
- Press Return to enter the command.
- When prompted, type your administrator password and press Return again. Terminal doesn't show any characters as you type your password.
- When prompted, type
Y
to confirm that you want to erase the volume, then press Return. Terminal shows the progress as the volume is erased. - After the volume is erased, you may see an alert that Terminal would like to access files on a removable volume. Click OK to allow the copy to proceed.
- When Terminal says that it's done, the volume will have the same name as the installer you downloaded, such as Install macOS Big Sur. You can now quit Terminal and eject the volume.
Mac Os El Capitan App Store Link
Use the bootable installer
Determine whether you're using a Mac with Apple silicon, then follow the appropriate steps:
Mac Os El Capitan App Store Link Generator
Apple silicon
- Plug the bootable installer into a Mac that is connected to the internet and compatible with the version of macOS you're installing.
- Turn on your Mac and continue to hold the power button until you see the startup options window, which shows your bootable volumes.
- Select the volume containing the bootable installer, then click Continue.
- When the macOS installer opens, follow the onscreen instructions.
Intel processor
- Plug the bootable installer into a Mac that is connected to the internet and compatible with the version of macOS you're installing.
- Press and hold the Option (Alt) ⌥ key immediately after turning on or restarting your Mac.
- Release the Option key when you see a dark screen showing your bootable volumes.
- Select the volume containing the bootable installer. Then click the up arrow or press Return.
If you can't start up from the bootable installer, make sure that the External Boot setting in Startup Security Utility is set to allow booting from external media. - Choose your language, if prompted.
- Select Install macOS (or Install OS X) from the Utilities window, then click Continue and follow the onscreen instructions.
Learn more
Os X El Capitan Download Apple
A bootable installer doesn't download macOS from the internet, but it does require an internet connection to get firmware and other information specific to the Mac model.
Mac Os El Capitan App Store Link Login
For information about the createinstallmedia
command and the arguments you can use with it, make sure that the macOS installer is in your Applications folder, then enter the appropriate path in Terminal: