Snow Leopard VM running in Catalina?

[hawkeye_a]

I was hoping to get one of the new 16" MBPs, but just realized that Catalina has ditched support for 32-bit apps.

I have my original retail Snow Leopard install disc, and I was wondering if it's possible to run it inside a VM in Catalina?

Cheers

 

[rpmurray]

I haven't done it with Catalina but it has been possible to run Snow Leopard as a VM in earlier versions of the macOS, but that would normally be the server version. There are tricks to get the non-server version to work but there's an annoying forum member that will accuse you of piracy and stealing Apple's IP if you talk about that on these forums.

The last time I heard (back in 2016) it was still possible to get the server version directly from Apple for $20. Here's the link to who to contact but I don't know if it's still available.

 

[StellarVixen]

It’s not stealing if you already own SL DVD but need modified version to work in VM.

It’s Apple’s fault they don’t allow 10.6 in VMs. You have already paid for OS and you want to continue using it, one way or another.

 

[IowaLynn]

You've probably seen this

Creating a macOS Virtual Machine in Fusion

You can install Mac OS X, OS X, or macOS in a virtual machine. Fusion creates the virtual machine, opens the operating system installation assistant, and installs VMware Tools. VMware Tools loads the drivers required to optimize a virtual machine's performance.

docs.vmware.com

 

[hvfsl]

Just be warned that Mac OS in a VM doesn't support graphics hardware acceleration, so any Apps requiring that might not run.

 

[gilby101]

I have my original retail Snow Leopard install disc, and I was wondering if it's possible to run it inside a VM in Catalina?

Easier (and complies with Apple's EULA) to run a more recent macOS in a VM. A Mojave VM will run 32-bit apps.

Easiest way to download is with this Terminal command:
softwareupdate --fetch-full-installer --full-installer-version 10.14.6 (or whatever you choose)

But note that the command will only work like that on Catalina and will only download a version which is compatible with the Mac doing the download. So you need to get it using your existing Mac - it will fail on a new 16" MBP.