OC4VM 3.0.0

[DrDonk]

Changes

Introduce new commands for spoofing and cloaking a VM in VMware from being detected as a VM. Details are on the Wiki pages.

(Happy 87th Birthday, Mum!)

Changelogs can also be found online https://github.com/DrDonk/OC4VM/releases

All dates are UK DD/MM/YY format.

06/05/26 3.0.0

• Updated to OpenCore 1.0.7 and latest KEXTs
• Split shrinkdisk command into diskzero and diskshrink commands to fix VMware crash
• Changed tool extensions to show what shell script they use; e.g. .zsh for ZSH scripts on macOS
• Add ability to cloak VM from macOS using fork of RestrictEvents KEXT and new guest command cloak
• Added spoof commands back to system after implementation of cloaking
• New solarium command to manager visual effects in Liquid Glass

Full Changelog: 2.5.1...3.0.0

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This discussion was created from the release OC4VM 3.0.0.

[mikeyo]

Is it still not recommended to run Tahoe even with solarium cmd?

[DrDonk]

It works better than before and I am doing some testing with a bunch of other settings that reduce the UI load. I’ll be posting it soon and updating the wiki.

I guess the answer is you mileage may vary based on the host and what you want to achieve. I will be happy to have some additional feedback on the recommendations I make.

[DrDonk]

So to disable the Liquid Glass effects run:

/Volumes/OPENCORE/OC4VM/tools/solarium.zsh off

See how that works. These are the various settings I always use on macOS VMs.

defaults write -g AppleShowScrollBars -string Always
defaults write -g NSAutomaticWindowAnimationsEnabled -bool false;
defaults write -g NSBrowserColumnAnimationSpeedMultiplier -float 0;
defaults write -g NSDocumentRevisionsWindowTransformAnimation -bool false;
defaults write -g NSScrollAnimationEnabled -bool false;
defaults write -g NSScrollViewRubberbanding -bool false;
defaults write -g NSToolbarFullScreenAnimationDuration -float 0;
defaults write -g NSWindowResizeTime -float 0.001;
defaults write -g QLPanelAnimationDuration -float 0;
defaults write -g com.apple.SwiftUI.DisableSolarium -bool NO
defaults write -g com.apple.swipescrolldirection -bool YES
defaults write com.apple.Mail DisableReplyAnimations -bool true;
defaults write com.apple.Mail DisableSendAnimations -bool true;
defaults write com.apple.Safari AutoOpenSafeDownloads -boolean NO
defaults write com.apple.WindowManager EnableStandardClickToShowDesktop -bool false
defaults write com.apple.WindowManager GloballyEnabled -bool false
defaults write com.apple.dock autohide-delay -float 0
defaults write com.apple.dock autohide-time-modifier -float 0;
defaults write com.apple.dock expose-animation-duration -float 0;
defaults write com.apple.dock launchanim -bool false
defaults write com.apple.dock mineffect -string scale
defaults write com.apple.dock springboard-hide-duration -float 0;
defaults write com.apple.dock springboard-page-duration -float 0;
defaults write com.apple.dock springboard-show-duration -float 0;
defaults write com.apple.finder DisableAllAnimations -bool true;
defaults write com.apple.tipds ConsecutiveNotificationsCount -int 0
defaults write com.apple.tipds TPSTipsAppInstalled -int 0
defaults write com.apple.universalaccess reduceMotion -bool true
defaults write com.apple.universalaccess reduceTransparency -bool true

I think they also make a difference. Basically stop as many animations as possible, reduce motion, and Stage Manager. Also give the desktop a simple wallpaper or solid colour, don't use the complex light/dark or animated wallpapers.

Let me know what you think.

[raymod2]

I am having trouble getting the window to resize when running OC4VM 3.0.0 and Tahoe 26.4.1. I installed VMware Tools from /Volumes/OPENCORE/OC4VM/iso/darwin.iso and rebooted but when I drag the edge of the window it just snaps back. I also tried doing it from the command line as below. Note that resizing works on Sequoia 15.7.5.

dan@Dans-Mac VMware Tools % pwd
/Library/Application Support/VMware Tools
dan@Dans-Mac VMware Tools % sudo ./vmware-resolutionSet 1920 1080      
Password:
Requested resolution: 1920x1080
Effective resolution: 1920x1080
Unable to set resolution

[raymod2]

I'm running VMware Workstation 25H2 under Windows 11 on an AMD machine.

[DrDonk]

I’m using AMD and 25H2u1. There must be a problem between the tools and VMware on the host. The tools for macOS were deprecated 2-3 years ago so it is entirely possible there is an issue with Tahoe. There is no obvious way to sort this out and again is another reason I don’t recommend Tahoe and stick with Sequoia.

[raymod2]

The deja vu is strong here! Three years ago it was: "avoid Ventura and stick with Monterey". But time marches on and our toolchains continue to break or become outdated. I guess when Apple drops support for x86 things will be even more difficult for people who want to run a macOS VM on hardware that wasn't built by Apple.

[DrDonk]

The writing has been on the wall for sometime regarding Intel and Apple. My real Intel Macs and Fusion are also suffering and I moved to Apple Silicon 3 years ago as tool chains really are now best hosted there. VMWare has pretty much given up on macOS as a guest and so this is becoming a struggle with diminishing returns.

I’ve done my best to try and keep things going but Unlocker and OC4VM are probably as good as it’s going to get.

[raymod2]

Thanks for all the work you have done over the years and for sharing it with the community. It has been incredibly helpful. I don't think I ever would have ported my application to macOS without Unlocker.

[David735453]

Now that spoofing works (i managed to get the Valid: possibly), can I log into my vm?
Btw thx for the work even without, it works great and i can test some things on it.

[claudiimspoft-rgb]

Can I add a GPU to the machine?

[DrDonk]

No that is not possible.