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drmuey/macOS VM runner.md

Last active December 19, 2023 22:21
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macOS VM runner.md

Here is my findings/opinion as of Oct 2023:

  1. ❌ Boot Camp - I want to run OSs in a window, not reboot into it
  2. ❌ Parallels Desktop - too expensive for my purposes
  3. ❌ VirtualBox is great but, unfortunately, Virtual Box currently (Sept 2023) does not work on modern macs so its a non-strater ATM. Plus the licesning is not currently compatible with my work.
  4. ⚠️ QEMU is extremely capable but it requires quite a technical ability to simply spin up a VM
  5. ✅ UTM is a QEMU based GUI that is simple and just works.

UTM, like Virtual Box, runs the OS in a window in macOS (as opposed to rebooting into the OS like bootcamp). Personally, I find the window approach far more convenient than rebooting.

Simply download and install it from https://mac.getutm.app/ (app store)

When you open it you can spin up and machines and create machines.

They even have a library of OSs to make it easier (install CrystalFetch ISO Downloader or you can use an .iso or .vhdx that you downloaded from elsewhere.

‼️ Just make sure the .iso or .vhdx you choose is the right architecture for your Mac’s processor ( ➜ About This Mac ➜ Processor) or you’ll have weird issues:

  • Intel ➜ x64
  • Apple M ➜ Arm64 (Apple Silicon)

TL;DR

  1. ☑️ Install UTM
    • The $9.99 is the phone app, you want the free computer program
  2. ☑️ Install CrystalFetch ISO Downloader
  3. ☑️ Note your Mac’s processor ( ➜ About This Mac ➜ Processor)
  4. ☑️ Open CrystalFetch and download Windows 11 ‼️ for your processor ‼️
    • It will download a large .esd file, process it, and ask you move it (Choose Downloads folder for sanity). After that it will be a .iso file of the same name as the .esd file.
  5. ☑️ Open UTM and pick up at step 2 of UTM’s Windows Instructions
  6. ☑️ Follow though on the two items in this comment
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drmuey commented Oct 30, 2023 •
edited

As of the date of this comment:

Digital Signature Error

After installation of Windows 11✱, it starts in recovery mode with an error about not being able to verify a digital signature.

To solve this you can:

  1. hit F8 to get into Startup Settings
  2. hit 7 to choose Disable driver signature enforcement
  3. do initial setup and installation of spice tools
  4. reboot
  5. ensure that driver signature enforcement is enabled

✱ This is true for both the VHDX from insider program and the ISO from crystal fetch that UTM’s doc suggests (22621.1702.230505-1222.ni_release_svc_refresh_CLIENTCONSUMER_RET_x64FRE_en-us.iso to be exact).

Suspend Does Not Work

utmapp/UTM#5844

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