Why #MacAdmins should always keep an OS X Installer.app handy

If you use a physical box to make software packages or test policies you are SO stuck in the 2000s. Chances are you have VMware Fusion (or Parallels) handy if you're a Mac Admin, and building yourself a test VM is stupidly easy if you just keep an OS X Installer.app in your Applications folder.

Seriously, this is how easy it is to build a VM for testing purposes.

Open up VMware Fusion and click Add:

Select New…

Select Install from disk or image.

Find your Install OS X.app in Applications (or wherever else you might be keeping it).

You'll see it recognize the installer and let you continue through the setup process.

Finish the setup and either hit the Finish button, which will immediately launch the VM, or hit Customize Settings so you can go in and adjust processor/hard drive space before you launch the VM for the first time (I usually do this and increase the RAM before I do anything else).

It'll prompt you to save before you make any adjustments; give it a meaningful title for whatever you are testing/building/etc.

You'll see VMware build the installation medium; this can take a few minutes.

One you launch the VM, you'll see what looks like going into the Recovery partition for the first time. You'll first be asked to choose a language.

Once you do you'll see the OS X Utilities menu, and in there you can Install OS X.

Go through the standard setup, agree to T&C, and select the drive that VMware has created for you to use as your Virtual Machine. It'll then install OS X and you'll be on your way.

Once the OS is installed, run updates. Then, configure it with whatever settings you want on the machine (automatic logon, privacy settings, desktop picture, tools like Casper Suite apps, etc.) and take a Snapshot. This can be your "Vanilla" point, somewhere you can restore to after you install apps for package building, or test policies.