How to install Guest addition in Mac OS as guest and Windows machine as host

Question

I am trying to copy contents from my host machine to a guest machine, but for copying I need to install the Guest additions disk.

Or there is there another way to access host machine content on the guest machine or vice-versa?

Will it better to ask in [su]? – Prisoner Jan 17 '17 at 08:32 — Prisoner, Jan 17 '17 at 08:32

Codeguard · Answer 1 · 2020-01-09T15:53:54.787

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Guest Additions are available for MacOS starting with VirtualBox 6.0.

Installing:

Boot & login into your guest macOS.
In VirtualBox UI, use menu Devices | Insert Guest Additions CD image...
CD will appear on your macOS desktop, open it.
Run VBoxDarwinAdditions.pkg.
Go through installer, it's mostly about clicking Next.
At some step, macOS will be asking about permissions for Oracle. Click the button to go to System Preferences and allow it.
If you forgot/misclicked in step 6, go to macOS System Preferences | Security & Privacy | General. In the bottom, there will be a question to allow permissions for Oracle. Allow it.

Troubleshooting

macOS 10.15 introduced new code signing requirements; Guest additions installation will fail. However, if you reboot and apply step 7 from list above, shared clipboard will still work.
VirtualBox < 6.0.12 has a bug where Guest Additions service doesn't start. Use newer VirtualBox.

edited Jan 09 '20 at 15:53

answered Jan 14 '19 at 17:22

Codeguard

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`Guests` are allowed on Mac OS X as of 6.0. **Not** `Guest Additions`. That is, you can use VirtualBox on a Mac now, but `Guest Addtitions` is still not provided, The two aren't the same thing. See `Mac OS X guests` on this page: https://www.virtualbox.org/manual/ch14.html – Chris Larson Jun 13 '19 at 17:12
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This is incorrect. `Guest Additions` are available starting with VirtualBox 6.0. I'm using it myself for shared clipboard. – Codeguard Jun 14 '19 at 07:43
Guest additions for a MacOS *host* exist, but not with a MacOS *guest* as far as I can tell, which is what the asker is asking for – Brian Leishman Jun 14 '19 at 13:02
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This is also incorrect. What do you even mean by Guest additions for host? They are intended for guests. – Codeguard Jun 16 '19 at 11:02
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@Codeguard can you provide more info? I am using VirtualBox 6.0.10 with Windows 10 host and macOS Mojave 10.14.5 guest. Installed Guest Additions successfully but still no clipboard and no shared folders available – mnaoumov Jul 25 '19 at 13:42
Very helpful answer @Codeguard. I have macOS Mojave (1.14.5) as host OS and Windows Server 2012 R2 as guest OS. I was facing the same issue. After updating to VirtualBox 6.0.10, I followed your installation steps and ran `VBoxWindowsAdditions.exe` instead of `VBoxDarwinAdditions.pkg` and after the restart, my shared folders from host OS were visible. Hurray!!!! – A J Qarshi Aug 20 '19 at 06:48
'/Library/LaunchAgents/org.virtualbox.additions.vboxclient.plist' does not exist after the installation on my macOS Mojave guest – BBacon Aug 26 '19 at 14:22
Tested: 10.15.2 Catalina (host) | Win10 (guest) run VBoxWindowsAddtions.exe in guest works. Shared Folder appeared – Zézouille Feb 03 '20 at 22:44
I am using VirtualBox 6.14 with windows 10 host and mac os high serrial guest. Installed Guest Additions successfully but still no clipboard and no shared folders available – evan Mar 01 '20 at 02:39
Shared folders are not yet supported. As for shared clipboard, remember to enable it in VM menu. – Codeguard Mar 02 '20 at 10:18
In case it helps anyone, Guest Additions install failed using root user. Using another user with admin privs worked. VBox 6.0.18, Mac 10.10 (Yosemite) Guest. – codesniffer Mar 02 '20 at 15:53
Confirmed! At least with VirtualBox 6.1.4 and MacOS Mojave enabling in the VM devices menu the bidirectional clipboard, it indeed share the clipboard. Magic!! finally – Carlos Rafael Ramirez Mar 18 '20 at 18:19
First time I installed Guest Additions I received an error message that an extension was incompatible with my OS (host Catalina, guest Mojave) but after a restart of the VM, GA installed fine BUT shared folders and clipboard still didn't work. This is on Virtual Box 6.1.8. – d-b May 30 '20 at 12:30
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For me - Windows 10 20H2 Host | macOS Big Sur 11.1 Guest | VirtualBox 6.1.16 - At step 5 it says - The installation failed. The installation encountered an error that caused the installation to fail. Contact the software manufacturer for assistance. – Hrishikesh Kadam Jan 12 '21 at 08:43
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For those of us with a MacOS Big Sur (11.x) guest.... we seem to be out of luck (for now?) according to the manual the Darwin Guest Additions are only for Mac OS X guests (Mac OS X hosts only) – Scott Witte Apr 06 '21 at 23:38

score 67 · Answer 2 · edited Oct 21 '20 at 08:38

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In the guest Mac, open the Terminal and go for a reboot on the Recovery partition

sudo nvram "recovery-boot-mode=unused"
sudo reboot

Now you're in Recovery mode, enter the Terminal and do:

csrutil disable
spctl kext-consent add VB5E2TV963
nvram -d recovery-boot-mode
reboot

Back in "normal" mode, open the Terminal, and do:

sudo mount -uw /
sudo chown :admin /System/Library/Extensions/
sudo chmod 775 /System/Library/Extensions/

Run the Guest Additions installer and go through the end (in principle, it goes through successfully)
Now in the terminal, do:

sudo chown :wheel /System/Library/Extensions/
sudo chmod 755 /System/Library/Extensions/
sudo nvram "recovery-boot-mode=unused"
sudo reboot

Again in Recovery mode, go into the Terminal and do:

csrutil enable
nvram -d recovery-boot-mode
reboot

You should be set.

edited Oct 21 '20 at 08:38

kayahr

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answered Jun 22 '20 at 21:06

lai

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This solution did not work for me. Host: Catalina, Guest: High Sierra. None of the guest additions are working. – bpops Jun 27 '20 at 20:06
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Impressive, I didn't understand any code, but it worked for me! It was the only solution. [macOS Catalina 10.15.3] – Bruno Yuzo Aug 04 '20 at 22:45
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This worked for me VB 6.1, Windows 10 host, macOs Catalina 10.15.7 guest. – Ynot Sep 27 '20 at 21:44
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VB 6.1.14, Host Catalina 10.15.6, Guest 10.15.1. At `sudo spctl kext-consent add VB5E2TV963` I get `sudo: command not found`. That line seems to work without sudo. The installation did as well. – BadAtLaTeX Oct 07 '20 at 15:01
Unfortunately, this did not work for me either. Host: Arch Linux, Guest: Mojave 10.14.6. – Bridge Jan 11 '21 at 18:27
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For me - Windows 10 20H2 Host | macOS Big Sur 11.1 Guest | VirtualBox 6.1.16 - `sudo nvram "recovery-boot-mode=unused"` gives error - nvram: Error setting variable - 'recovery-boot-mode': (iokit/common) not permitted. – Hrishikesh Kadam Jan 12 '21 at 09:08
Worked for me! Host=Pop!_OS 20.10; Guest=macOS Catalina 10.15.7 (still struggling to get fullscreen in the guest working properly though) – Theuns Alberts Feb 11 '21 at 13:01
was able to isntall GuestAdditions, but didnt work for me: Win10 Home v.2004 (host) => MacOs Catalina 10.15.5 (guest) – Matt Feb 14 '21 at 23:07
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For Big Sur what worked for me (11.0.1 and newer) was to: - shutdown the vm using the apple logo then selecting shutdown. - removing the virtual harddisc from the vm. - booting it up to the EFI utility, then enter "exit". - changing the boot order to the EFI util. - readding the vhd to VM - add back the iso used to install mac with - go to the terminal after booting from that iso and enter those terminal commands. - then do the other steps from the rest of the above post (but ignore the nvram commands as they do not work). – PSXGamerPro1 Apr 21 '21 at 02:24
I was staring at a blank screen for about 3 minutes while it was rebooting into recovery mode, so note that it may take some time to load – marsnebulasoup Aug 14 '21 at 21:51
Step 4 is "Run the Guest Additions installer". How/where is that? I tried the VM's menu > Devices > Insert Guest Additions CD image - but that just mounted the ISO. Nothing ran, and nothing obvious inside there is for the Mac (perhaps my Mac skills are lacking). Please help with step 4 above. – Craig Silver Dec 20 '21 at 23:30
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You need to run the .pkg file inside the disk, i was confused myself by the wording – Lk77 May 06 '22 at 13:05

score 7 · Answer 3 · answered May 01 '17 at 07:16

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Guest additions are not available for Mac OS X. You can get features like clipboard sync and shared folders by using VNC and SMB. Here's my answer on a similar question.

answered May 01 '17 at 07:16

TomTasche

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They are available now. – Mormegil Mar 14 '19 at 09:48
@Mormegil where? – PaulB Jul 26 '19 at 17:09
Like on any other guest OS. Take a look at the other answer by Codeguard. – Mormegil Jul 27 '19 at 11:03

score 6 · Answer 4 · answered Apr 10 '19 at 22:53

6

You can use SSH and SFTP as suggested here.

In the Guest OS (Mac OS X), open System Preferences > Sharing, then activate Remote Login; note the ip address specified in the Remote Login instructions, e.g. ssh user@10.0.2.15
In VirtualBox, open Devices > Network > Network Settings > Advanced > Port Forwarding and specify Host IP = 127.0.0.1, Host Port 2222, Guest IP 10.0.2.15, Guest Port 22
On the Host OS, run the following command sftp -P 2222 user@127.0.0.1; if you prefer a graphical interface, you can use FileZilla

Replace user and 10.0.2.15 with the appropriate values relevant to your configuration.

answered Apr 10 '19 at 22:53

Roy Hyunjin Han

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In my version of virtualbox, step 2 is slightly different: you need to open the settings of your machine -> Network -> Adapter 1 -> Advanced -> Port Forwarding. – Nero Vanbiervliet Feb 14 '20 at 13:33
Thanks, the other solutions didn't work for me but this works. In Virtualbox I have to keep setting it up as it resets – dustytrash Mar 15 '20 at 19:14

score 6 · Answer 5 · edited May 06 '20 at 16:37

I've the same problem, and by the "trial and error" method I have the steps to install the guest additions on a MacOS guest:

insert the guest additions cd
open the cd on file manager
double click on VBoxDarwinAdditions.pkg
the installer opens, then click contine
next screen to set location of installed files, only press install
your password can be asked a couple of time while installing, write it and continue
this is the tricky part, on my installation, macos show an message about the driver created by oracle won't be installed because a security issue, it has the option to enable it, so click on the button to open security screen and click on the allow button next to the oracle software listed at bottom of the security settings window, it will ask your password again. Meanwhile the pkg installer continued as if it has permissions and will say "install finished", but I don't believe it so, once I unlocked the oracle drivers installations I repeat the whole process from step 3, and in the second round all installs without asking more than the first password to install.

And it is done!

In case it helps anyone, Guest Additions install failed using root user. Using another user with admin privs worked. VBox 6.0.18, Mac 10.10 (Yosemite) Guest. — codesniffer, Mar 02 '20 at 15:54

score 2 · Answer 6 · answered Apr 09 '21 at 20:39

Above, someone gave a hint:

At some step, macOS will be asking about permissions for Oracle. Click the button to go to System Preferences and allow it. If you forgot/misclicked in step 6, go to macOS System Preferences | Security & Privacy | General. In the bottom, there will be a question to allow permissions for Oracle. Allow it.

It took me a couple of hours but I did finally find what he was talking about - it's actually in the bottom of the Mac - click on the gear icon and you'll find it eventually.

score 1 · Answer 7 · answered Oct 12 '19 at 13:26

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You need to update your virtualbox sw. On new version, there is VBoxDarwinAdditions.pkg included in a additions iso image, in older versions is missing.

answered Oct 12 '19 at 13:26

inventorado

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Hi inventorado and welcome to StackOverflow! Thanks for providing the answer -- but it could be made even better if you were to reference the specific version numbers affected to help future users know what versions to look for. – robsiemb Oct 12 '19 at 14:20

score -1 · Answer 8 · answered Sep 30 '21 at 01:46

you can do it from the windows 10 terminal

step 1: open CMD in administrator mode

step 2 paste this open CMD cd "C:\Program Files\Oracle\Virtualbox"

step 3: paste this command in the open CMD, you must indicate the name you have in VirtualBox

VBoxManage setextradata "Virtual machine name" VBoxInternal2/EfiGraphicsResolution X

Example:

VBoxManage setextradata "Mac OS Sierra" VBoxInternal2/EfiGraphicsResolution 1280x720

rediffusion · Answer 9 · 2020-09-08T15:20:00.227

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Before you start, close VirtualBox! After those manipulations start VB as Administrator!

Run CMD as Administrator
Use lines below one by one:

cd "C:\Program Files\Oracle\Virtualbox"
VBoxManage setextradata “macOS_Catalina” VBoxInternal2/EfiGraphicsResolution 1920x1080

Screen Resolutions: 1280x720, 1920x1080, 2048x1080, 2560x1440, 3840x2160, 1280x800, 1280x1024, 1440x900, 1600x900

Description:

macOS_Catalina - insert your VB machine name.
1920x1080 - put here your Screen Resolution.

Cheers!

edited Sep 08 '20 at 15:20

answered Sep 08 '20 at 14:25

rediffusion

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I wonder how changing the screen resolution might help installing Guest Additions and overcome security issues. I guess it will not. – Viacheslav Rodionov Nov 13 '20 at 19:17
Viacheslav Rodionov, the problem is that you can't install `Guest Additions` but there's another way to change Screen Resolution. Good luck! – rediffusion Nov 15 '20 at 20:39
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Well, the author did not ask anything regarding the resolution. Why did you decide that this is exactly the issue that should be fixed and posted an answer, not even a comment? – Viacheslav Rodionov Nov 15 '20 at 21:17
This is the most correct way. I searched for a long time but did not find a better solution! Have a good day! – rediffusion Nov 17 '20 at 07:36

score -5 · Answer 10 · edited Apr 27 '17 at 18:51

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Have you tried https://www.virtualbox.org/manual/ch04.html which has step-by-step instructions to help you?

Make your VM bi-directional for Clipboard and Drag & Drop
Share folders from your host to the guest VM too.

edited Apr 27 '17 at 18:51

the Tin Man

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answered Jan 20 '17 at 21:58

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I have one last question to ask Rakesh: Are you sure that you restarted your VM after you followed the steps? I got the same issue where I followed the steps and when I tried to copy text from host machine into my VM environment nothing worked until I was forced to shut down the VM and then bring it back up and found that I could paste and copying using bi-directional cut and paste. – user1548875 Jan 23 '17 at 00:00

How to install Guest addition in Mac OS as guest and Windows machine as host

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