Mac OS X Server 10.5.8

Do you use Mac OS X Server 10.5 as a Parallels guest?

  • Yes

    Votes: 4 100.0%

  • No

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Would like to but not currently due to technical difficulties

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Total voters
    4
M

Macintosh Rescue

Member
Am I the only person in the world still using this?
Ms issue with Parallels Desktop that persists throughout every release that the CPU in the Mac OS X 10.5.8 virtual machine window indicates 100% even when the guest is at idle. I've checked the activity monitor in the guest and can confirm that the guest is idling, yet the host starts to overheat and shows excessive CPU usage.

I keep submitting technical data and nothing gets done to fix this. I was wondering if there were enough Leopard Server users here to mobilise and pressure Parallels to fix this. It is only Mac OS X Server 10.5.x that suffers this problem, the other OS X and macOS guests are fine.
 
Hello,
Not sure whether this is the explanation but IIRC, Apple officially allows virtualization of Mac OS X server 10.6 and 10.7 , Mac OS X 10.8 and above.
Mac OS X server 10.5 thus isn't in that list.
HTH,
Axel
 
Axel_Luttgens said:
Hello,
Not sure whether this is the explanation but IIRC, Apple officially allows virtualization of Mac OS X server 10.6 and 10.7 , Mac OS X 10.8 and above.
Mac OS X server 10.5 thus isn't in that list.
HTH,
Axel
Click to expand...
The same is true as specified in the Mac OS X Server 10.5 EULA; virtualisation is allowed on Apple hardware.
Parallels Desktop officially supports Mac OS X Server 10.5.x which can be found within the online help under the topic "Supported Guest Operating Systems".
 
Hi,
I also use 10.5.8 as a bridging OS for my classic Macs (HFS+ support using Zip drives). Running Parallels 16.1.0 with Leopard 10.5.8 on my 2018 MacBook Pro, I too am getting 100% CPU utilization in Parallel's Resource Monitor for the guest OS. Activity Monitor within Leopard shows idle. Mac OS 10.6 does not exhibit the same issue with CPU (runs normal).

Thanks,
Henry
 
I just received a fix for the Leopard Server CPU issue which involves extracting an extension into the System folder (NullCPUPowerManagement.kext). Not sure if this file is version specific to Parallels, so you may want to contact their support team and reference the following ticket:
[Parallels #2827389] OS X 10.5 Leopard Server is experiencing 100% CPU on Resource Monitor
 
Thank you HenryC11 for letting me know that a solution exists. I contacted Parallels support as you suggest and they couldn't be bothered looking up the ticket. I was informed that every core in a virtual machine shows as 100% cpu usage which is obviously untrue which anybody who uses Parallels Desktop would know, except for systems like DOS that don't support CPU idling. My support request was closed with "Solution Provided" which is obviously not the case.

I'd be very grateful if you were able to attach the extension to this thread if possible, since Parallels Support cant be bothered with customers.
Many thanks.
 
Macintosh Rescue said:
Thank you HenryC11 for letting me know that a solution exists. I contacted Parallels support as you suggest and they couldn't be bothered looking up the ticket. I was informed that every core in a virtual machine shows as 100% cpu usage which is obviously untrue which anybody who uses Parallels Desktop would know, except for systems like DOS that don't support CPU idling. My support request was closed with "Solution Provided" which is obviously not the case.

I'd be very grateful if you were able to attach the extension to this thread if possible, since Parallels Support cant be bothered with customers.
Many thanks.
Click to expand...

Although there are more updated sources for the NullCPUPowerManagement.kext files, I have only tested with the one I was provided by Parallels Support. Below is a link to my copy with instructions. Essentially, the NullCPUPowerManagement.kext extension is copied to the System/Library/Extensions folder on the VM OS to be loaded on startup. I found this solved the 100% CPU issue experienced on 10.5.8.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/rwk4vmug8ma72rq/NullCPUPM.zip?dl=0
 
That's done the Jobe nicely. Thank you for your help!
It's great to finally be able to run Leopard Server again and not have to use an old Power Mac for the occasional need of a Classic Mac OS accessible AFP sharing solution.
I just wish I could get Mac OS 9 to NetBoot off it, but I don't think that's possible after Tiger Server so will still have the power hungry Power Mac handy.
 
...actually it seems I can get Mac OS 9 to NetBoot from the server which means I've now got everything I want virtualised, and when I eventually move to AppleSilicon I will just use the Mac OS X Server disk with something like QEMU.

I think I'll document this little project incase anymore historic computer enthusiasts, or PPC Linux preparers want to give this a go.

Thanks again HenryC11!
 
Macintosh Rescue said:
...actually it seems I can get Mac OS 9 to NetBoot from the server which means I've now got everything I want virtualised, and when I eventually move to AppleSilicon I will just use the Mac OS X Server disk with something like QEMU.

I think I'll document this little project incase anymore historic computer enthusiasts, or PPC Linux preparers want to give this a go.

Thanks again HenryC11!
Click to expand...
Awesome! Glad that helped. :-)
 
I can't test this myself anymore because I now run Mac OS X Server 10.5.8 on VirtualBox.
You can try the following:
  • If you're upgrading Parallels Tools try uninstalling the version that's there, reboot then try installing the current version
  • Try leaving the installer at the frozen section for about 30 minutes; I've noticed that sometimes it can freeze like you're describing and then it resumes with no explanation.
  • Request Support from Parallels, although this one is a bit of a long shot given how poor their support can be. Remember: Mac OS X Server 10.5.8 (Leopard) is one of their listed supported guest operating systems, so they should be supporting that given that they've sold the product stating that support.
I hope you are able to get this sorted, and if Parallels have a solution it may be appreciated by other users if you could post back how the problem is solved.

Good luck!
 
HenryC11 said:
Although there are more updated sources for the NullCPUPowerManagement.kext files, I have only tested with the one I was provided by Parallels Support. Below is a link to my copy with instructions. Essentially, the NullCPUPowerManagement.kext extension is copied to the System/Library/Extensions folder on the VM OS to be loaded on startup. I found this solved the 100% CPU issue experienced on 10.5.8.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/rwk4vmug8ma72rq/NullCPUPM.zip?dl=0
Click to expand...

Thank you for this! And thank you for keeping it available. It solved my Leopard Server VM's host CPU issue.
 
NullCPUPowerManagement.kext fixed the CPU usage for my Leopard 10.5.8 VM (Parallels 19, 2016 Mac).
It doesn't seem to be needed for my Snow Leopard 10.6.8 VM or later VMs.
 
joevt said:
NullCPUPowerManagement.kext fixed the CPU usage for my Leopard 10.5.8 VM (Parallels 19, 2016 Mac).
It doesn't seem to be needed for my Snow Leopard 10.6.8 VM or later VMs.
Click to expand...
That's right; it's just Mac OS X Server 10.5.x that needs the extension.

I feel like warning anybody who uses Mac OS X Server 10.5.x in Parallels that I recently upgraded my host to a 2018 Mac mini and could not keep Leopard running; it kept self destructing on reboots and Parallels now specifies that Mac virtual machines are only supported on hosts that are compatible with the guest OS as a host also. If you're running OK on a 2016 Mac it's probably best not to upgrade to a newer model. Once Parallels Desktop stops activating on older macOS versions you can put your Leopard VM into VirtualBox 6.1 using the same virtual filesystem; I couldn't get it to work with VirtualBox 7.

Good luck keeping it going!
 
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