How to run Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard under Mac OS X 10.7 Lion using Parallels

[davetroup]

Which Mac do you have? and did Lion come with the machine?

I have an iMac i3 3.2Ghz. Lion did NOT come with the machine, I upgraded to it.

Hopefully you're aware that you can't just install Snow Leopard in a VM directly, you have to go through a process to fool Parallels (or other VM software) into thinking you are running Snow Leopard Server, because they won't let you install an unmodified copy of Snow Leopard since it's not licensed for use in a VM.

 

[charlituna]

a bit new to this

okay I want to see if I've been reading all this correctly before I dive in and try it.

I have Snow Leopard on a separate partition at the moment for a couple of apps and was given a copy of Parallels by a friend that accidentally bought it twice and opened it before he realized it. So what I am hoping is to actually install Snow Leopard in a virtual disk so I can recombine my drive. If I understand the whole virtual machine thing that is actually how that works so I'm covered there.

So the process (and correct me if I get something wrong) will be to
1. Go into the SL partition and make sure it is as fully up to date as possible to spare myself that trouble afterwards.
2. come back to Lion and use Disk Utility to make a writeable disk image of said partition.
3. Go in and change the appropriate file to fool Parallels into thinking it is the server version
4. Launch parallels and set up a new VM with the image I just made
5. Once it is done but before I hit the final 'ok' use terminal to go back and change the file again as it will have been changed during the process
6. hit that okay and it should be locked in thinking it is Snow Leopard server but it is just the regular version

At that point I can open SL in parallels and run the couple of programs I need to run. And dump the second partition.

yes, no. did I miss anything

 

[whiteclw]

Use PathFinder to move ServerVersion.plist

Use the Path Finder, a file browser and management application for Mac OS, to move ServerVersion.plist out of and back into the System/Library/CoreServices folder before and after running OS X updates (move it back before restarting your SL Parallels VM). You need to select the show hidden files view option to see the .plist file.

I also did this to install Rosetta from the Mac OS X Install DVD Image that I mounted as 1 of my 2 CD/DVDs.

Your can download the 30 day free trial at: http://cocoatech.com/

There may be other file browser apps that allow you to do the same that are free.

 

[MichaelLAX]

Many of the steps outlined here simplified and refined:

Installing Snow Leopard (and Rosetta) into Parallels 7 in Lion

 

[bernball]

I am trying to edit the plist file but I cannot unlock the file for editing. I went to "Get Info" and unlocked the Sharing and Permissions panel. On the new image I have only read permissions (and cannot change them) and on the mounted install disc I have read and write and "custom access" but cannot change any of the permissions.

I copied the plist file to edit it and tried to drop it back into the folder but it wouldn't let me. I could open the file with Text Wrangler within the folder but could not edit it.

Any suggestions as to how I could edit the plist?

 

[MichaelLAX]

...Snow Leopard since it's not licensed for use in a VM.

It is a common Urban Myth that the Snow Leopard EULA prohibits its use in virtualization.

 

[barracuda156]

Here is another version, much crazier: https://www.ivanexpert.com/blog/2020/06/snow-leopard-in-parallels-desktop/