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Mac Mojave Patcher
A future patcher release will likely fix the upgrade problems. For earlier releases of this patcher, check the README for v0.5.0 or earlier. Patcher releases before v0.4.2 will definitely have compatibility problems with Big Sur 11.0.1 Release Candidate 2 (20B28) or later, including the final Big Sur release. Compatibility of various Mac models. Installing Mojave on an obsolete Mac. I have used Mojave Patcher to try and install Mojave on a mid 2010 MacBook Pro and a mid 2011 MacMini. My MacBook Pro is defined by Apple as being ‘obsolete’. It is no slouch though, and it has a beautiful big screen and the sort of tactile, responsive keyboard that has been all but lost on the latest.
Undoubtedly, Windows 10 is a user-friendly operating system with its own pro and cons. But which operating is free from it? If you’re in love with Windows 10 and do not want to leave it, but want to try macOS, you can do so. But how?
The safest way without leaving safe boundaries of your current operating system is using a virtual machine.
Virtual machine is an emulation of a computer system, it behaves like an actual computer by imitating dedicated hardware.
In this how to install macOS Mojave on Windows 10 tutorial you’ll learn how to create a Hackintosh.
So, let’s begin without going into details.
Pre-requisites to create macOS Mojave on Windows 10
You’ll need to download and install certain essential tools before we begin.
1. VMware Player 15.0.4
VMware Player Intel APFS Mojave 10.14.3
VMware Player Patch Tool (Both Files Required)
2. MacOS Mojave
Once all the above-mentioned files are downloaded, extract them using an archive tool like WinRAR or WinZip. In the extracted folder, you’ll see a .VMDK file. This the file that contains the operating system.
How to Create a macOS Virtual Machine Using VMware Workstation Player
You can not only create a macOS Mojave on VirtualBox but can also use VMware to create a virtual machine. Before doing so, remember VMware requires patching before macOS Mojave virtual machine runs.
Patching VMware Workstation Player
We hope you’ve downloaded VMware Player Patch Tool. That being done, now you need to extract the contents of the zip file.
Tip: Save all the downloaded files at one location and extract them on the same drive. As VMware root folder and extracted files are on C: extract all on the same driver. As it will work best.
While extracting patch file ensure VMware is not running. To cross-check head to Task Manager by pressing CTRL+SHIFT+ESC. Here, under Processes tab look for Vmware, if you find it select > End Task.
Once done head back to patch folder > right-click the win-install command script > Run as Administrator. This will open the Command Prompt window, where patch script will run. While the process is running, keep an eye on the screen and ensure there is no “File not Found” messages.
Note: “File not found” or a “system cannot find the file specified” message appears while installing VMware Workstation Player when the patch file is saved in a location different to the default folder.
Once the patch runs completely, open VMware and start creating macOS Mojave Virtual Machine.
Steps to create macOS Mojave Virtual Machine
1. Open VMware > New Virtual Machine > Next > Custom > Next.
2. Select Create a New Virtual Machine > I will install the operating system later > Next.
3. Select Apple Mac PS X > under Version click the down arrow to select macOS 10.14. In case you do not see Guest operating system or macOS options, this means the patch didn’t install correctly. So, reinstall the patch and then follow the steps.
Give a name to your macOS Mojave virtual machine and copy the file path as you’ll need it later to make some edits.
4. On the next screen, change Number of processors to 1 and change Number of cores per processors to 2 > Next.
5. Next, allocate the memory > Next. We suggest allocating 4GB.
6. After this, select Use network address translation (NAT) to connect. However, if you don’t want network connectivity select Do not use a network connection > Next.
7. Avoid changing recommended I/O controllers, disk type > Next.
8. Now, select Create a new virtual disk > Next. Do not change the recommended disk size. Select Store virtual disk as a single file > Next.
9. To finish creating macOS Mojave virtual machine specify the location where you wish to disk file > Next > Finish.
Wait, do not start the virtual machine.
Before we start the virtual machine, you’ll need to edit the certain settings. To edit macOS Mojave Settings follow the steps below.
Steps to edit macOS Mojave hardware specifications:
1. Open VMware > select macOS Mojave virtual machine > Edit virtual machine settings.
2. Let VMware run on default virtual machine memory. We recommend using 4 GB.
3. Under Processors, if you see the number of cores more than 2 edit them and make it 2 under core processors.
4. Next, under Hard Disk (SATA), if there is an already create disk remove it. Select SATA > Remove.
5. Now, select Add > Hard Disk > Next > SATA (Recommended)> Next > Use an existing disk. Browse to the location of existing macOS VMDK and hit ok.
Edit the macOS VMX file
You are now one step away from using your Mac Mojave virtual machine. To make the final edits close VMware and follow the step by step instructions below:
1. Go to the location where you saved macOS virtual machine. Its default location is: documents folder on your C drive.
2. Now, navigate to macOS.vmx > right-click > Open with > Notepad.
3. Scroll to the end and add: smc.version = “0”
4. Save the change and Close Notepad.
You are nowall set. Open VMware select your macOS Mojave virtual machine, and enjoy using it.
Since we are using VMware version 15 you can install VMware tools from within. To do so, head to VM tab in your VMware > Install VMware tools.
Troubleshooting
Sometimes when the patch file isn’t processed properly you may encounter error message like:
“Mac OS X is not supported with binary translation”
“VMware Player unrecoverable error: (vcpu-0)”
If you receive “Mac OS X is not supported with binary translation” you’ll need to activate virtualization in your BIOS/UEFI configuration.
If you receive the message “VMware Player unrecoverable error: (vcpu-0)” this means you forgot to add smc.version = “0” in the .vmx file. So head back and add it.
So these were the simple steps to run macOS Mojave on Windows 10. If you follow the step by step, then nothing can go wrong. Please leave us a comment to let us know all went well. However, if you faced any problem do let us know.
Apple’s new macOS Mojave doesn’t support the old Macs prior to 2012. It was a shocking news for me too.
You may also like to read the following posts:
I have an old, not for me actually, MacBook Pro which I purchased at the end of 2010. I was expecting Apple won’t drop the support of Mojave for MacBook Pro 2010 model, at least not for this time. But I was wrong. The latest Majove doesn’t support it too.
There is no need to worry. Even the oldest Windows 95 can be installed on Mac computer. There is a solution to every problem.
I don’t want to upgrade my MacBook Pro right now, especially when a new model is rumored to be released in next month.
Another choice for me was to buy a graphics card which supports Metal. In fact, it was the most feasible solution for to get installed Majove on my unsupported Mac right now.
Metal is natively supported by all Macs introduced since 2012. It means the following Nvidia, AMD and Intel family cards are compatible.
-Intel HD Graphics 400, Iris 5000 & 6000 family
-Nvidia GT 600M, 700M family
-AMD R9 M family
To check which GPU (graphics processing unit) is installed on your Mac computer, click on the Apple icon in the top left corner and then click on “About This Mac”.
There are a number of third-party vendors which sell graphics cards with integrated Metal support specifically designed for Mac computers. While searching for a compatible graphics card, I found that I could install Mojave on my MacBook Pro Mid 2010 model by using a software known as macOS Mojave Patcher Tool. Kudos to DosDude1 who developed tested, and released it as a free app.
By using this software, we could install the latest macOS version on early 2008 Macs.
Here is the step by step method to run Mojave on unsupported Macs.
The whole process can be divided into four parts.
- Part 1. Getting all the required things
- Part 2. Downloading the macOS Mojave Installer App
- Part 3. Making a bootable Mojave USB drive
- Part 4. Installing and Patching Mojave OS on the unsupported computer
We will discuss each part in details in the following paragraphs.
Part 1: Requirements to Run Mojave on Old Macs
Four things are required to get macOS Mojave installed on your forgotten-by-Apple Mac.
- Your Mac computer
It could be an early-2008 or newer Mac Pro, iMac, or MacBook Pro. The following models include under this category.
– MacPro3,1
– MacPro4,1
– iMac8,1
– iMac9,1
– iMac10,x
– iMac11,x
– iMac12,x
– MacBookPro4,1
– MacBookPro5,x
– MacBookPro6,x
– MacBookPro7,1
– MacBookPro8,x
It could be late-2008 or newer MacBook Air or Aluminum Unibody MacBook. The following models include under this category:
– MacBookAir2,1
– MacBookAir3,x
– MacBookAir4,x
– MacBook5,1
It could be early-2009 or newer Mac Mini or white MacBook including the following models:
– Macmini3,1
– Macmini4,1
– Macmini5,x
– MacBook5,2
– MacBook6,1
– MacBook7,1
And it could be Xserve2, 1 and Xserver3, 1.
- A USB drive in 16GB size or above
- macOS Mojave patcher tool. Download it here.
- A copy of the Mojave software.
Part 2: Download macOS Mojave Installer Software
MacOS Mojave software can be downloaded as an Installer App from Mac App Store using the computer which supports Mojave.
If you don’t have Mojave supported Mac, you can download the Mojave Installer App using patcher tool. Open the macOS Mojave patcher tool. If it doesn’t open and says it is from an unidentified developer, right click on the tool’s icon and click on “Open” from sub-menu and then enter your Mac’s Admin name and password. After the verification, you can open it with the left double-click.
If you don’t remember your macOS password, here are the solutions to reset it.
Go to Tools in the Menu bar and then hit “Download macOS Mojave”.
I recommend using the built-in downloader tool because it will download the latest and the compatible Installer app.
Mojave Installer app is about 5-6GB in size and it may take some time depending on the speed of your internet.
If the internet connection interrupts while downloading the file, don’t worry. The downloading process will resume where it left. Simply download the Mojave software again but point it to the same location where you were already downloading and saving the installer app.
Part 3: Create a Bootable Mojave USB Drive
In order to create a bootable Mojave USB Installer drive, follow these steps.
Step 1: Insert 16GB or above USB drive into your USB port of your Mac.
Step 2: Open Disk Utility and erase the USB drive in OS X Extended (Journaled) format. Give a proper name before erasing. I gave the name “macOS Mojave” to my USB drive.
If you are new to Mac, get the basic information about how to make a Partition, erase the current partition and how to make a bootable USB drive.
Step 3: After the drive is erased, open “macOS Mojave Patcher” tool.
Step 4: Point the Patcher tool to the downloaded Mojave Installer app which is downloaded in Part 2.
Step 5: Now select the target USB drive you just formatted.
Step 6: Hit the “Start Operation” button on the patcher tool and let it make the USB bootable with Mojave.
Step 7: It will show “Complete” when the process is done.
Dosdude Mojave Patcher
Part 4: Installing and Patching macOS Mojave
In this fourth and final part, we will install and patch the macOS Mojave on our old Mac computer. Follow the steps below to complete the remaining procedure.
Step 1. Restart your computer and hold down the “Option” key as soon as the Mac starts up.
Step 2: Select the USB drive, which was named as “macOS Mojave” as the startup disk.
Step 3: If you want to upgrade your current macOS to macOS Mojave, simply use the continue button to proceed and follow step 5. But if you want to install it on another partition or want to erase the current partition first, then follow the Step 4.
Step 4: Open Disk Utility from the bottom left panel.
Select the volume you want to erase. Use Mac OS Extended (Journaled) format. Or if you have got late-2009 and later machines with SSD drives, you can also use APFS format.
If you don’t want to install Mojave on current volume, you can also create a new partition and install it there. Mojave takes approximately 18GB space on hard drive. So at least make a 25GB partition to test the new macOS.
If you want to use it for all routine work, set the partition size according to your needs.
Step 5: Select the volume and press “Continue” to begin the installation process.
Step 6: The installation process takes about 20 minutes to complete. When it is done, reboot your Mac back into installer drive while holding down the “Option” key again.
Step 7: This time select “macOS Post Install” app from the bottom left panel.
Step 8: Select the model of your computer and the volume on which you installed Mojave and then click the “Patch” button. The tool will automatically select the required patches according to the model of your computer.
Mac Mojave Patcher
Step 9: Press the “Reboot” button when the patch is complete.
Step 10: The computer will reboot with macOS Mojave installed on it.
Step 11. If it doesn’t work properly on the restart, boot your Mac back into the installer USB drive, select macOS Post Install again, and this time also select “Force Cache Rebuild” option. Once the patch is complete and the cache is rebuilt, reboot.
Step 12: Upon restart, complete the setup process and start using your Mac with a Mojave operating system.
Happy Mojaving!!
For additional information and to know more about the known issues, please visit DosDune1’s website. He is an awesome guy.
Mac Mojave Patcher Tool
Note: You will see a new “Patch Updater” app in the Applications under “Other” folder. It will alert you when new patches are available for your computer.
Mojave Patch
Your Mac will get the future Mojave updates as other supported computer do. If you don’t see the updates, or your computer doesn’t work properly after applying the update, use the step 11 of Part 4 to enable all patches.