Level 1

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Virtual machines to run 32-bit apps via Mojave

Hello all,

I recently upgraded from High Sierra to Catalina.

A number of critical apps for my work are 32-bit and are no longer supported. I am open to trying a virtual machine to run Mojave so that these apps work.

This article recommends Parallels and VMware Fusion: https://uk.pcmag.com/news-analysis/123012/how-to-run-32-bit-apps-in-macos-catalina

Both seem too expensive for my needs, so I am keen to explore open source alternatives. It seems Virtualbox could be a good fit: https://www.virtualbox.org/

Can Virtualbox run Mojave on Catalina?
My MacBook Air 2013 internal HD is 251gb, but only 26gb is available to use. Is this enough for installing and running Virtualbox and Mojave?
Can Virtualbox and Mojave be installed on an external HD? How would this affect performance?
Are there any other free or cheap virtual machines I should consider?

Any thoughts much appreciated.

MacBook Air 13", macOS 10.15

Posted on Apr 5, 2020 6:13 AM

Similar questions

21 replies

Apr 6, 2020 7:08 AM in response to Tuco09

Tuco09 wrote:

Good Day;

AS Komodein stated , I have also run Parallels for years under a variety of OS. I use parallels to run windows apps that have no Mac equivalents. Works well but is a money sink.

I have tried VirtualBox but cannot get it to work with my 27 inch screen properly. Parallels does allow me to stretch the screen as I wish.

Regards

Neil

Thanks for that insight—good to know.

The OP is using MacBook Air 2013

Rudegar

Level 10

180,024 points

Apr 5, 2020 8:38 AM in response to Komodein

if the 32bit apps are open source then any programmer could take it upon themselves to lift them to 64bit, of cause if they relied on third party libs also only in 32bit it could be a huge task.

etresoft

Level 9

56,182 points

Apr 5, 2020 11:40 AM in response to Komodein

Komodein wrote:

I'm keen to explore virtual machines first.

You have neither the RAM nor the storage space for a virtual machine. Sorry.

dialabrain

Level 10

135,383 points

Apr 6, 2020 4:09 AM in response to Komodein

You could do the same with Mojave.

Komodein Author

Level 1

9 points

Apr 6, 2020 3:53 AM in response to Old Toad

Thanks.

My external HD is a Seagate 1TB Mac OS Extended (Journaled) drive. It has 340GB free. I think it is USB 3, given that my MacBook ports are, but I can't work out how to check (⌘+I brings up an info window which doesn't state whether the drive is USB 3).

Encouraging to hear that the boot times aren't too slow.

Sorry to ask again, but are you aware of a walk through for installing and running High Sierra on my external HD without a virtual machine? Would be helpful to know what steps I should be aiming for.

Ideally I don't want to clone my internal HD. I already have a drag-and-drop back-up, and a Time Machine back-up, both on the same external HD.

As I understand it, installing a fresh version of High Sierra would be quicker and simpler ... but I'm still slightly unclear how that would function without a virtual machine. What does it look like to boot up and run that OS inside Catalina? Or would I boot up my MacBook in Recovery Mode or similar, select the external HD, and then the MacBook itself is running High Sierra only, meaning I can't access my Catalina apps etc?

dialabrain

Level 10

135,383 points

Apr 6, 2020 4:06 AM in response to Komodein

You would need to create a USB bootable installer of High Sierra, boot from it then install High Sierra to your external.

How to create a bootable installer for macOS - Apple Support

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Virtual machines to run 32-bit apps via Mojave