How to install macOS before 10.7 under VMware or Parallels

Sometime you may need old macOS like 10.6 because you’d like to run some old ppc software via rosetta for example.

Both common used virtulization solution for macOS Parallels and VMware supports to run macOS 10.6 but only as a server.

The good news differences between Server and non-Server isn’t huge and you may easy install it from non-Server DVD.

The first things that’s required is an original distributive of macOS 10.6 for example. You may download one of available from archive.org or buy it via ebay.

After you did it you must to edit an image to force macOS to think that it is Server version; if you’re using macOS just mount it with -shadow option, run sudo cp /Volumes/Mac\ OS\ X\ Install\ DVD/System/Library/CoreServices/SystemVersion.plist /Volumes/Mac\ OS\ X\ Install\ DVD/System/Library/CoreServices/ServerVersion.plist and convert an old image to new one with format UDZO and the same -shadow option.

Good, now you may create a new VM and just install it. In 20–30 minutes, after reboot, it won’t start because an installed version isn’t thinks that it is a server.

Boot from your image again and this time go to Utilites -> Terminal where use the same hack: sudo cp /Volumes/Macintosh\ HD/System/Library/CoreServices/SystemVersion.plist /Volumes/Macintosh\ HD/System/Library/CoreServices/ServerVersion.plist

One more reboot and you may create your user and prepare everything. If an update brokes it, well, you may boot a machine from image and force the hack one more time.

Anyway, I’d like to point that this probably violates license agreement for macOS.

Thus, if you would like to run macOS 10.4 you may interested in this https://landonf.org/code/macosx/Virtualizing_Tiger_On_Modern_CPUs.20131217.html