Having a fresh macOS Sierra install is really handy when testing automatedsetups, like my ansible mac-dev playbook.
There’s also this exact issue filed on the VirtualBox bug tracker that has not been resolved yet. So, for now, the solution is to build the VM from an older version of the macOS Sierra installer. Hopefully you, or someone you know, still have an older version of the Install macOS Sierra application. On VirtualBox, you'll find it's not so easy. After a reboot, the nvram modifications will have disappeared. VirtualBox User Manual §3.13.2 sheds some light: It is currently not possible to manipulate EFI variables from within a running guest (e.g., setting the 'boot-args' variable by running the nvram tool in a Mac OS X guest will not work).
The Problem
I recently got a fresh computer and ran into a problem following thesame instructions I alwaysfollow. I got stuck on the boot screen with this message:
The install hangs on this error indefinitely:
How to Fix It
Github Macos Virtualbox
This is more of a workaround than a fix. The information I can find about thiserror seems to indicate a changeintroduced with 10.12.4that still has not been fixed. There’s also this exact issue filed on theVirtualBox bug tracker that has notbeen resolved yet.
So, for now, the solution is to build the VM from an older version of themacOS Sierra installer. Hopefully you, or someone you know, still have an olderversion of the Install macOS Sierra application.
Macos Vm Virtualbox
If not, there are also other ways to acquire this disk image. If you go this route,make sure to check the checksum value before you use the image to produce a new VM.This GitHub repositoryhas a list of checksums for all of the installers you might find.
Macos Guest Virtualbox
After you’ve got an older version of the installer, you can run the installationas normal and use the mac app store to update to 10.12.4.