macOS10.12 guest on 12.2.1 Host

[admilon]

Hello,

I'm trying to install macOS10.12 in a virtual machine.
Trying top install either fails with system not found or the installation is crashing with a kernel panic.
What's the secret to get some old macOS up and running.

That was actually the reason to buy this software.

thanks

[ColoradoMarmot]

First, are you on an intel or M1 machine?  You can't virtualize MacOS on M1.

Second, where did you get the installer, and how are you doing the install?  You need the actual installer.app, then just drag/drop that to the new VM wizard window.

Also keep in mind that there's no real 3d support for MacOS guests, so a number of things simply won't work properly.

[admilon]

Thanks, I'm not on M1, but on Intel (MacBookPro2018, 32GB/1TB SSD).

I got the Install macOS Sierra.app. Where from? I don't remember. I'm using Mac since MacOS2.x on a Mac512 😉

I was trying to install this in different ways and nothing works.

As reported before, either I get a screen saying no system or the fresh install works until I install VMTools and restart, Kernel panic.

All that I can repeat, endless. I spent the whole last night trying to install that, why else would I spend so much money for vmware?

[dempson]

Just to check: are you running Fusion 12? Older Fusion versions won't work on macOS Monterey.

The most likely problem: if you don't remember where you got the macOS 10.12 installer, that might mean you got it long enough ago that it no longer works. There was a security certificate expiry a couple of years ago which killed all previously downloaded macOS installers.

Download a fresh copy of the macOS Sierra installer from Apple and try again. Unfortunately they don't make this easy: you need a Mac which able to boot Sierra in order to get the installer. Your 2018 MacBook Pro is too new (its oldest supported macOS is High Sierra 10.13.6).

As a starting point, this is the page where Apple provides access to the installers for older macOS versions:

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT211683

For High Sierra (10.13) and later, the link on that page takes you to a hidden App Store page from where you can download the macOS installer. It won't let you download the installer if your Mac model is too new to run that macOS version.

For Sierra (10.12) and earlier, the link downloads a Disk Image (.dmg) file. When you open that you will find it contains an installer package. Opening that package and running through the installer creates the "Install macOS version.app" application in the Applications folder. You won't be able to do this if your Mac is too new, because the installer package checks the Mac model is supported by the macOS version you are trying to install.

If you don't have easy access to an older Mac, there is a workaround involving virtual machines.

1. Download the installer for a newer version of macOS which does support your Mac model.

2. Create a virtual machine using the newer macOS version. It will need a minimum of 20 GB of disk space (possibly more for recent macOS versions).

3. Boot into that VM and do minimal setup.

4. Install VMware Tools so you can easily copy files between the host and VM.

5. Inside the VM, download the disk image for macOS Sierra (or copy it from the host to the VM, if you already downloaded it).

6. Inside the VM, open the disk image and the installer package, proceed with installation. The model compatibility check is bypassed if it detects it is running inside a VM.

7. Copy the resulting "Install Mac OS Sierra.app" from the VM's Applications folder to the host.

8. Shut down the VM. If you don't need a VM running that newer macOS version, you can delete it to save disk space.

9. Use the "Install Mac OS Sierra.app" to create a VM for macOS 10.12.

A similar trick works to get the installer for High Sierra (10.13) and later, if your Mac model is too new to run that version: you can use the support page link and download the High Sierra or later installer inside a VM, because the compatibility check done by App Store is bypassed if it detects it is running in a VM.