Running Spinrite 6.1 On a Apple Intel Mac using VirtualBox VM

Disclaimer:
this is a first draft and link references and footnotes are all messed up - so sorry refs like `¹² or [^12] or [^12^] are intermingled and messed up, will have to figure out how to fix my publishing pipeline 😊
Thanks for the feedback Peter Blaise
KNOWLEDGE required !!! You must be comfortable with Administration commands in both the Host OS of choice, as well as DOS and the VirtualBox application. You should NOT blindly follow this guide; you need to understand what the commands are, and why you’re doing them. These “How-Tos” will NOT tell you every single thing to click on; there is an assumption that you know your way around a PC. If that’s not you, DO NOT attempt this. YOU ARE DOING THIS AT YOUR OWN RISK, AS IT IS AN UNSUPPORTED METHOD TO RUN SPINRITE.

1. Download the latest version of macOS:

  • Go to the Apple Support page and follow the instructions to download the latest macOS that is compatible with your Mac²⁷.

2. Create a bootable installer for macOS on an external USB flash drive:

  • Connect a USB flash drive to your Mac²¹.
  • Open Terminal, which is in the Utilities folder of your Applications folder²¹.
  • Run the following command in Terminal to create the bootable installer²¹: 
    sudo /Applications/Install\ macOS\ Sonoma.app/Contents/Resources/createinstallmedia --volume /Volumes/MyVolume

    Replace MyVolume with the name of your USB flash drive²¹.

3. Change System Integrity Protection (SIP):

  • Restart your computer in Recovery mode¹².
  • Launch Terminal from the Utilities menu¹².
  • To disable SIP, run the command csrutil disable¹².
  • To enable SIP, run the command csrutil enable¹².
  • Restart your computer¹².

4. Boot from the newly created external USB flash drive:

  • Restart your Mac and immediately press and hold the Option key²⁵.
  • Release the Option key when you see the Startup Manager window²⁵.
  • Select the external USB drive and click Return²⁵.

5. Install VirtualBox and VirtualBox Guest Extension Pack on the external USB drive:

  • Download VirtualBox from the official website and install it on the external USB drive[^10^].
  • Download the VirtualBox Guest Extension Pack from the official website and install it¹⁹.

6. Create a DOS VM using FreeDOS:

  • Download the FreeDOS 1.3 USB Lite boot disk from the FreeDOS website.
  • Open VirtualBox and create a new VM[^30^].
  • Set the type to Other and the version to DOS[^30^].
  • Set the memory size to 64 MB[^30^].
  • Choose Use an existing virtual hard disk file and select the FreeDOS 1.3 USB Lite boot disk[^30^].
  • Click Create[^30^].

7a. Create a vmdk disk device that points to the Mac’s internal SSD:

  • Open Terminal².
  • List all available disks and partitions by running the command diskutil list².
  • Unmount the disk you want to use by running diskutil unmountDisk /dev/disk#, replacing disk# with the disk identifier².
  • Navigate to the directory where you want to create the vmdk file².
  • Run the following command to create a vmdk file referencing the physical disk²: 
    VBoxManage internalcommands createrawvmdk -filename /path/to/file.vmdk -rawdisk /dev/disk#

    Replace /path/to/file.vmdk with the path where you want to create the vmdk file, and replace disk# with the disk identifier².

Please note that you need to run these commands as root or using sudo². Also, ensure that the disk is not in use (for example, don’t use the disk where macOS is installed) to avoid data loss².

7b. Create a vmdk disk device that points to the Mac’s internal SSD:

  • Open Terminal².
  • List all available disks and partitions by running the command diskutil list².
  • Unmount the disk you want to use by running diskutil unmountDisk /dev/disk#, replacing disk# with the disk identifier².
  • Navigate to the directory where you want to create the vmdk file².
  • Run the following command to create a vmdk file referencing the physical disk²: 
    VBoxManage createmedium disk --filename /path/to/file.vmdk --sizebyte $(diskutil info /dev/disk# | grep "Total Size" | awk '{print $3}') --format VMDK

    Replace /path/to/file.vmdk with the path where you want to create the vmdk file, and replace disk# with the disk identifier².

Please note that you need to run these commands as root or using sudo². Also, ensure that the disk is not in use (for example, don’t use the disk where macOS is installed) to avoid data loss².

8. Unmount the disk:

  • Open Disk Utility¹⁵.
  • Select the disk that you want to unmount in the sidebar¹⁵.
  • Click the Unmount button in the toolbar or beside the disk set name¹⁵.

9. Add the newly created raw physical vmdk disk as a second hard disk to the VM:

  • In VirtualBox, select the VM and go to Settings -> Storage².
  • Click the Add Hard Disk button, select Choose existing disk, and select the vmdk file².

Please note that you need to run the FreeDOS VM as root in order to be able to actually have the rights to access the raw physical disk².

Some relevant URLs used to produce this:

  • [^1] How to download and install macOS - Apple Support. https://support.apple.com/en-us/102662.
  • [^2] How to download and install macOS - Apple Support. https://support.apple.com/en-us/102662.
  • [^3] Create a bootable installer for macOS - Apple Support. https://support.apple.com/en-us/101578.
  • [^4] Disabling and Enabling System Integrity Protection. https://developer.apple.com/documentation/security/disabling_and_enabling_system_integrity_protection.
  • [^5] How to Boot Mac From External USB Drive - AppleToolBox. https://appletoolbox.com/how-to-boot-mac-from-external-usb-drive/.
  • [^6] How to Install VirtualBox in Your USB Drive and Run any Operating …. https://www.maketecheasier.com/install-virtualbox-in-usb/.
  • [^7] How to Install VirtualBox in Your USB Drive and Run any Operating …. https://www.maketecheasier.com/install-virtualbox-in-usb/.
  • [^8] How to Install VirtualBox Extension Pack - Lifewire. https://www.lifewire.com/install-virtualbox-extension-pack-4782422.
  • [^9] How to Install VirtualBox Extension Pack - Lifewire. https://www.lifewire.com/install-virtualbox-extension-pack-4782422.
  • [^10] The FreeDOS Project. https://www.freedos.org/download/.
  • [^11] How to install FreeDos onto a USB stick? - Super User. https://superuser.com/questions/1388931/how-to-install-freedos-onto-a-usb-stick.
  • [^12] Creating a raw disk VMDK and adding it to the Virtual machine … - VMware. https://kb.vmware.com/s/article/2097401.
  • [^13] Unmount a disk set or disk member using Disk Utility on Mac. https://support.apple.com/guide/disk-utility/unmount-a-disk-set-or-disk-member-dskud709f49b/mac.
  • [^14] How to Use a Physical Hard Drive with a VirtualBox VM. https://www.serverwatch.com/guides/how-to-use-a-physical-hard-drive-with-a-virtualbox-vm/.
  • [^15] hard drive - Use physical harddisk in Virtual Box - Super User. https://superuser.com/questions/495025/use-physical-harddisk-in-virtual-box.
  • [^16] FreeDOS commands you need to know Opensource.com. https://opensource.com/article/21/4/freedos-commands.
  • [^17] Get started with FreeDOS Opensource.com. https://opensource.com/article/21/6/get-started-freedos.
  • [^18] FreeDOS Books. https://www.freedos.org/books/get-started/14-manual-install/.
  • [^19] How to mount External Hard Drive in VirtualBox. https://www.eltima.com/article/virtualbox-usb-drive-passthrough/.
  • [^20] VirtualBox USB Passthrough Extended GUIDE. https://www.net-usb.com/virtual-usb/virtualbox-usb-passthrough/.
  • [^21] Anleitung: Externe Geräte mit virtuellen PCs verbinden. https://www.pcwelt.de/article/1154210/anleitung-externe-geraete-mit-virtuellen-pcs-verbinden.html.
  • [^22] How to Install Your VirtualBox VM on an External Drive. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1oy6Uwr1RqU.
  • [^23] About System Integrity Protection on your Mac - Apple Support. https://support.apple.com/en-us/102149.
  • [^24] How to turn off System Integrity Protection on your Mac iMore. https://www.imore.com/how-turn-system-integrity-protection-macos.
  • [^25] How to Unmount A Disk On Mac Fix Can’t Unmount Drive on Mac - iBoysoft. https://iboysoft.com/howto/how-to-unmount-a-disk-on-mac.html.
  • [^26] Couldn’t unmount the disk on Mac? Try this - MacPaw. https://macpaw.com/how-to/couldnt-unmount-disk-mac.
  • [^27] How to Access USB from VirtualBox Guest OS - LinuxBabe. https://www.linuxbabe.com/virtualbox/access-usb-from-virtualbox-guest-os.
  • [^28] Chapter 4. Guest Additions - VirtualBox.org. https://www.virtualbox.org/manual/ch04.html.
  • [^29] How to install macOS on an external drive Macworld. https://www.macworld.com/article/672585/how-to-install-macos-on-an-external-drive.html.
  • [^30] How to Create a Bootable USB macOS Installer (Any MacOS Version). https://bing.com/search?q=how+to+install+macOS+on+an+external+USB+flash+drive.
  • [^31] How to install macOS from a USB TechRadar. https://www.techradar.com/how-to/how-to-install-macos-from-a-usb.
  • [^32] How to Boot macOS From USB - The Mac Observer. https://www.macobserver.com/tips/how-to/boot-macos-from-usb/.
  • [^33] How to download and install Apple’s macOS 12 Monterey for your Mac. https://www.techradar.com/how-to/how-to-download-and-install-macos-12-monterey.
  • [^34] Disk Operating System. https://www.freedos.link/.
  • [^35] undefined. https://theartistunion.com/dyallas.
  • [^36] undefined. http://download.virtualbox.org/virtualbox/.
  • [^37] en.wikipedia.org. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VirtualBox.
  • [^38] User Guide for Release 7 - Oracle. https://docs.oracle.com/en/virtualization/virtualbox/7.0/user/EN-VBOX-7-0-USER.pdf.
  • [^39] First Steps - Oracle Help Center. https://docs.oracle.com/en/virtualization/virtualbox/7.0/user/Introduction.html.
  • [^40] Managing Oracle VM VirtualBox from the Command Line. https://www.oracle.com/technical-resources/articles/it-infrastructure/admin-manage-vbox-cli.html.
  • [^41] VBoxManage createmedium - VirtualBox.org. https://www.virtualbox.org/export/86820/vbox/trunk/doc/manual/en_US/man_VBoxManage-createmedium.xml.
  • [^42] 7.21. VBoxManage createmedium - Oracle. https://docs.oracle.com/en/virtualization/virtualbox/6.0/user/vboxmanage-createmedium.html.
  • [^43] VBoxManage createmedium - VirtualBox.org. https://www.virtualbox.org/export/97865/vbox/trunk/doc/manual/en_US/man_VBoxManage-createmedium.xml.