GuestOS - macOS Snow Leopard 10.6.8 VM (Parallels)

This is a Virtual Machine (VM) created for Parallels Desktop with a guest Mac OS.
It was created by me for my own use but I thought others might find this useful as an isolated or disposable OS or as a test bed.

What, why and more:

• A fresh Mac OS 10.6.8 guest OS and nothing else. A vanilla 10.6.8 build 10K549
• No user account has been created yet. You can choose your own name and password!
• Test software not supported by your OS
• As an isolated OS this can be used to research malware or malicious software safely to find out how to kiss it or remove it

Things to know:

• Parallels Tools has not been installed
• All settings for the VM are default. Make sure to configure the hardware settings to optimize it for your environment
• Parallels Desktop version 14.1.3 was used to create the VM for forward compatibility
• This is not 10.6 Snow Leopard Server. It will however say it is the Server version of OS X because of a licensing agreement between Apple and the developers of Parallels Desktop. This trick is required to bypass the restriction and the OS is a normal 10.6.8 client OS. There are also a number of updates still available for this OS if you choose to install them and they will install as if this was the non-server version. So don’t worry about any available updates the OS will install the correct ones even though the System Info will display it’s a server OS

Important Info:

• Disable the network for the guest OS in the hardware configuration settings if you plan to use it isolated from the internet. And disable any sharing between your Mac and the Guest OS for maximum safety
• Clone the VM after you have configured it and setup a new user account. This way if you’re into mass destruction you have a ready to use starting point

Requirements:

• Parallels Desktop version 14.1.3 or newer
• It might be usable on earlier versions of Parallels Desktop if you don’t install the Parallels Tools which might or might not cause problems

Disclaimer: This is not meant to be a replacement OS nor is this intended to be a perfect host for all software. All virtual machines have limits. I use these VMs like toilet paper and delete them after testing software leaving my system uncluttered from files I didn’t want. And no residual problems with left over files from whatever I was testing that could affect future tests.

More information about Snow Leopard OS - https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2009/06/08Apple-Unveils-Mac-OS-X-Snow-Leopard/

The reason it is special is that normally the 10.6 client OS isn't allowed to be installed while using Parallels Desktop. Parallels Desktop will also refuse to start from a non-server Snow Leopard OS if you try. But there is a well known secret. Add or create the ServerVersion.plist file and Parallels Desktop will cooperate by allowing it to boot.