How to create Monterey VM?

[ooshnoo]

hey folks...  Downloaded macOS Monterey today now that it's finally released and tried to make a VM on my Intel Mac Mini using Fusion 12.2, and each time I try it fails to create the installation medium.

Anyone got tips on how to get a Monterey VM installed and working?

Thanks!

-A

[ColoradoMarmot]

If you have the full installer .app, just drag/drop it into the new virtual machine wizard.

[gringley]

Nope that is not working with the Monterey install app.  Looks like we have to clunk an ISO again.

[ooshnoo]

@ColoradoMarmot well yeah... that's what I've been doing.

[ooshnoo]

@gringley do have any instructions to share?

[gringley · Accepted solution]

I tried doing install from the recovery partition and that hung with no progress for 20 minutes so I did this:

Make a bootable installer from Apple's standard instructions - https://support.apple.com/en-in/HT201372

Create a custom VM for macOS 11 as Fusion does not know 12 yet.

Power on the VM.  It won't do anything but that's not important right now.

Go to USB settings in the VM and check the box for and Connect to VM the Install macOS Monterey USB device.

Restart the VM and at least for me the USB installer booted and I was off and running.

I have not completed my first install yet but it looks like it will finish.

[ColoradoMarmot]

Yeah, looks like Apple pulled an Apple and made a bunch of last minute changes before GA.

[albatros99]

the same way as big sur, download the image (dmg) and converted it as iso

(documentation can be found on internet)

[ooshnoo]

@albatros99 not helpful at all.

Thank you to @gringley works perfectly.

[jackiemeese]

@gringley's tip worked for installing, but on first boot of the full Monterey the guest crashes before I can select the Country for making a new user. Has anyone gotten past that step, and any tips?

I'm hosting on a Trashcan with 32G running Big Sur 11.16.1, Fusion 12.2.1

Oddly enough, I can get the same machine to run Monterey as a guest with VirtualBox. I'd expected that it would be the other way around.

[gringley]

Funny you mention the crash.  I wanted to create a new Monterey Beta 12.1 VM, so I thought lets save a few steps by creating a USB installer from the Install Monterey Beta file.  This crashed for me as you noted so I had to create a normal 12.0.1 VM, then download and install the Apple beta package, then get the Monterey Beta installer and run it to get the new VM on beta 12.1.  No idea what causes the crash, but for me it only happened with the beta 12.1 not the release 12.0.1.

[jackiemeese]

I'm having that issue with the 12.0.1 release version. It sounds like I'm not unique with the crash though.

[jackiemeese]

I left it (12.0.1 guest) running with the crashes over the weekend. Sometimes it boots, and sometimes it crashes. It's also not stable when it does actually boot.

Can anyone from VMWare confirm if Monterey will be a supported Guest OS at some point (now that it's fully released) on Big Sur (or any specific host OS)?