Mac OS X Tiger/Running Tiger Today

When Mac OS X Tiger was first released, Macintosh computers ran on PowerPC-based processors. Halfway through Mac OS X Tiger’s life, Apple announced that all new Macs made would use Intel processors. Today’s Macs use Apple-designed, ARM based processors. As a result, no modern Mac will run Tiger. However, there is still a way to run it if you so choose: in a virtual machine.

You can use an app called UTM to run virtual machines using the PowerPC processor. This will work on an Intel Mac or an M1 Mac just the same. It is assumed that you have already downloaded the Mac OS X Tiger install DVD from another source and converted it to an ISO file if necessary.

Creating a virtual machine

1. Install UTM from the Mac App Store. Open UTM.
2. Choose File > New on the menu bar to create a new virtual machine.
3. Select Emulate, then Other.
4. Click Browse and locate your Tiger install ISO. Click Continue.
5. Under Architecture, choose PowerPC. Under System, choose “Mac99 Power Mac.” Set Memory to 2048 and CPU Cores to 1. Click Continue.
6. Choose a size for your virtual machine’s hard disk. It will not take up this much space on your real hard disk immediately; this is a maximum setting. The virtual machine’s hard disk file will be as large as its contents and not a byte more. Click Continue.
7. Skip the Shared Directory step; it is not compatible with Mac OS X Tiger. Click Continue.
8. Give your virtual machine a better name, then click Save.

You now have a virtual machine that works identically to a PowerPC Mac of the same era as Mac OS X Tiger. To run it, click the big Play button.