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Oracle VM VirtualBox for Mac Review

A free, open-source, and irritating Windows emulator

3.0
Average
Updated January 31, 2022

The Bottom Line

VirtualBox is free and open-source, and it works well for developers and hobbyists, but less well for anyone who wants to run Windows and Linux apps in a smoothly integrated way on a Mac.

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Pros

  • Free and open-source
  • Creates emulated machines for almost any Intel-based system
  • Keeps its emulated systems isolated from the host Mac system

Cons

  • Many features require expert-level skills
  • No built-in printer support
  • No easy support for macOS guest systems
  • Less powerful graphics than the competition

VirtualBox isn't the best way to run Windows apps—or a complete Windows system—on an Intel Mac, but it's the only method that costs nothing, uses open-source software, and is reasonably simple to set up.

No-cost methods aren't always the best ones, and commercial products like Parallels Desktop ($79.99) and VMware Fusion (also $79.99) do a faster and better job than VirtualBox of emulating Windows on a Mac. But unless you need the fast performance and easy setup that the commercial products offer, and if you're willing to put up with multiple annoyances before Windows runs the way you want it, VirtualBox can get the job done. I'll mention other low-cost and no-cost ways to run Windows apps on an Intel Mac, but VirtualBox may be the one that best fits your needs. 

If you have an Apple Silicon Mac, don't even think about using VirtualBox, because it won't run at all on an M1-based Mac, not even with Apple's Rosetta 2 translation layer that makes many Intel-based apps run on Apple Silicon. I'll list some alternative methods for running Windows apps on Apple Silicon at the end of this review. If you have an Intel Mac, read on.

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How to Get VirtualBox

VirtualBox's code is maintained by Oracle, hence the complete name Oracle VM VirtualBox. To get the app, you download the installation disk image from https://virtualbox.org. 

Next, you run the installer package from the downloaded disk image. The installer sends you to the Apple System Preferences app to grant permission to a VirtualBox extension that lets your guest Windows system exchange data with your host Mac system. Then you must restart and run VirtualBox again. 

By contrast, rival apps Parallels Desktop and VMware Fusion have different setup systems. Both guide you through the steps needed to create a new virtual machine. Parallels even gives you download links for Windows and open-source systems. But VirtualBox merely displays a clunky-looking menu, with an unhelpful cartoon picture of a penguin with a toolbox, and leaves you to figure out what to do next. 

VirtualBox can create what it calls "guest machines" that emulate almost any common Intel-based operating system, including Windows, Linux, macOS, and others. It does its best running Linux and Windows, and does its worst with macOS guests, where it offers slow performance and limited features compared with Parallels and VMware. If you're reading this, you probably want to run Windows under VirtualBox, and that's what I'll focus on in the rest of this review. Keep in mind that if you want to run a Windows game under VirtualBox, you'll be limited to DirectX 8/9 support. In contrast, Parallels Desktop and VMware Fusion support DirectX 11.


How to Install VirtualBox Part I: It's Not Easy

I'll give you an idea of what you're in for if you want to install and run Windows 11 in VirtualBox. The experience is completely different from what you'll get with Parallels Desktop, where the app effortlessly installs Windows for you. (VMware Fusion isn't as effortless as Parallels Desktop, and requires some settings changes before Windows 11 will run, but it's far easier to work with than VirtualBox.) I describe all the necessary workarounds that the VirtualBox interface doesn't tell you. With some diligent web-searching, you can find much of what I tell you here, but since I had to do it to test this software, I figured I'd save you the time.

VirtualBox startup screen

When VirtualBox starts up, you'll probably guess that you need to click on the New button that creates a new virtual machine. But before you do, you'll need to download a Windows 10 or 11 disk image from Microsoft's web site and have the image available on disk. When you have the Windows disk image ready, click the New button in Virtual Box's menu, and accept the defaults. You'll end up with a Windows 11 virtual machine listed in VirtualBox's sidebar. 

If your Mac is an old one without a Retina display, then go ahead and click the Start button on VirtualBox's menu to start up the Windows 11 machine. Next, follow the prompts and install Windows 11 from the Windows disk image. If, however, you have a Retina Mac and you click the Start button, Windows will appear in a tiny window with fonts too small to read – and nothing in the VirtualBox interface tells you how to fix it. A better app would fix it for you.

VirtualBox manager screen

Installing VirtualBox Part II: Some Important Hints

Here's the fix that the VirtualBox interface doesn't tell you: On a Retina Mac, click the Settings button in the VirtualBox menu for your Windows 11 system, then click Display. Here you see one of VirtualBox's long standing bugs. The name of the current tab in the settings dialog is invisible, and only a white box appears where the name of the tab should be. You can see the name by clicking on another tab. The name of the tab you clicked on will become invisible, but the name of the one you actually want to use will now appear. 

The one you want is the Screen tab, and when you eventually find it, change the Scale factor from 100% to 200%, click OK, and then press the Start button. 

An example of VirtualBox displaying windows with text too small to read

Because VirtualBox shows you alert messages at the top of the window while you boot from the Windows CD image, you'll probably miss the Press Any Key message that the CD image displays and you won't be able to install Windows. Close the window to power down the virtual machine and click Start again. This time, press any key to start the Windows installer. You're not home free yet, because you now face another problem that VirtualBox makes you solve for yourself (described in the next section). Once again, Parallels and VMware Fusion solve this problem for you.

VirtualBox display options, where you will want to increase the text size to 200%

Installing VirtualBox Part III: Getting Into the Registry

If you try to install Windows 11 by following the Windows Setup menus, you reach a screen that says Windows 11 won't run on this PC. Close the VirtualBox window, choose the option to power down the machine, and start again. This time, stop when the Windows installer gives you a choice of language, time and date, and keyboard settings. Press Shift-F10 to open a Windows command prompt, and perform the following steps carefully.

In the command prompt, type REGEDIT and press Enter to open the Windows Registry Editor. Navigate to HKEYLOCALMACHINE\SYSTEM\Setup, and Ctrl-click on Setup. Select New, then Key, and name the key LabConfig. Click on LabConfig, click in the right pane, and click Edit from the top-line menu. Choose New, DWORD (32-bit) Value, and name the new item BypassTPMCheck. Change its value from 0 to 1. Again choose Edit, New, DWORD, and name the new item BypassSecureBootCheck, and change its value to 1. Close REGEDIT, wipe the sweat from your forehead, and continue with the installation. 

Windows 11 will eventually start up, but you're not done yet. If you want to exchange clipboard data between your Mac host and Windows guest, you need to go to VirtualBox's Settings menu for your Windows system, find the General/Advanced tab, and enable the Shared Clipboard. Do the same for Drag and Drop so you can drag files between the Mac desktop and the Windows desktop. 

But, once again, these features won't work and the app's interface won't tell you why. You need to go to the VirtualBox top-line menu, choose Devices, then Insert Guest Additions CD Image, then, in Windows 11, navigate to drive D: and install the VirtualBox Guest Additions, and finally restart the Windows system. Keep in mind that if you had bought Parallels Desktop, you could have installed Windows 11 simply by clicking a few buttons.


Running Windows 11 Apps With VirtualBox

VirtualBox, like Parallels Desktop and VMware Fusion, lets you run Windows either in a window on your Mac desktop or in full-screen mode. It also offers a third mode called Seamless that lets you run a single Windows app in a window on your Mac desktop, or full-screen, hiding the Windows taskbar and desktop. 

Here again, unfortunately, VirtualBox makes your life difficult because when you first try to use Seamless mode to run, for example, Windows WordPad or any other Windows-only app, you also see a large rectangular region of the Windows desktop behind the app, even though the Windows desktop is supposed to be hidden. 

The solution is to close down the Windows system, go to the VirtualBox settings, navigate to Display and choose Enable 3D Acceleration. When you restart Windows, Seamless mode may work reasonably well, with only a small sliver of the Windows desktop showing behind the Windows app. However, this solution doesn't always work, and Seamless mode sometimes shows a rectangle of the Windows desktop even after you apply the fix. I can only hope that a future VirtualBox finally gets this right.

An example of Seamless mode in VirtualBox, where the window for a Windows app fits neatly on the screen

When you install Windows in Parallel Desktop or VMware Fusion, you can install your Mac printers into Windows the same way you install printers in a real Windows machine. Just tell the Windows Settings app to find and install your printer. With Parallels, you don't even need to bother, as Parallels installs a Windows "printer" that prints to a PDF file on your Mac desktop. Don't even think of trying the same thing using VirtualBox. Instead, search the web for advice on setting up a printer, and be prepared to bang your forehead on the desk while making it work.

I haven't mentioned other annoyances, like the fact that the VirtualBox menu option to power down the guest machine won't work until you open the power options in the Windows 11 Control Panel (yes, Control Panel, not Settings), and set the option that powers down the machine when you press the Power button. Parallels and VMware let you use a menu to send keystrokes to your Windows system even when those keys are not available on a Mac keyboard, like Break and PrtSc. VirtualBox lets you open a less-convenient and space-hogging "soft keyboard" where you click the keys you want to send to the Windows system. At least the soft keyboard feature can be useful for experimenting with different language layouts for the keyboard.

VirtualBox's onscreen keyboard

Free and Low-Cost Virtualization Alternatives

I can only recommend VirtualBox for those who love to tinker and/or who absolutely prefer free software when it comes to running Windows on a Mac, though it works well enough if you need to run a Linux system on your Mac. VirtualBox is an impressive example of free, open-source software, and while I admire it for its achievements, its many drawbacks keep it well off my list of go-to utilities.

If your Windows app is compatible with the open-source Wine software that lets some Windows apps run under Mac or Linux, then the smoothest and fastest way to run your app is with the freeware Wineskin Winery, as described in our guide to running Windows apps on a Mac. The second-smoothest Wine-based way is to run your app in CodeWeaver's commercial Crossover. Many games and apps work with these solutions, but complicated modern Windows apps will only run on a Mac if you use a full-scale Windows emulator like VirtualBox, Parallels Desktop, or VMware Fusion

Parallels Desktop is our Editor's Choice winner for Mac-based emulation software, and it's the obvious first choice for running Windows on a Mac. I have one complaint about Parallels. By default, it clutters my Mac with links to Windows apps and clutters the virtual Windows desktop with icons representing apps and folders from my Mac's desktop, most of which are unusable under Windows. It's easy to stop this over-integration in the settings, but I wish I didn't have to. Otherwise, Parallels Desktop does its job superbly well.

Oracle VM VirtualBox for Mac
3.0
Pros
  • Free and open-source
  • Creates emulated machines for almost any Intel-based system
  • Keeps its emulated systems isolated from the host Mac system
Cons
  • Many features require expert-level skills
  • No built-in printer support
  • No easy support for macOS guest systems
  • Less powerful graphics than the competition
View More
The Bottom Line

VirtualBox is free and open-source, and it works well for developers and hobbyists, but less well for anyone who wants to run Windows and Linux apps in a smoothly integrated way on a Mac.

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About Edward Mendelson

Edward Mendelson has been a contributing editor at PC Magazine since 1988, and writes extensively on Windows and Mac software, especially about office, internet, and utility applications.

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