ok I got macOS back... now I have to reinstall Linux...  

now I can't boot Windows anymore... what the f*ck is happening...

Yeah, Windows has to be the first to install because it overrides everything without a question.

Though, I didn't think it would mess with MacOS. Did you install it on the same drive or something?

yeah but I just used BootCamp... and it didn't just f*ck up macOS, it also broke my Linux install. 

the annoying thing now is that Windows can't boot so I need to fix it somehow without breaking the other 2 OS's... I don't wanna wait 2 hours for a time machine restore again... 

Not sure what's different between a boot camp and a normal Windows install but, If you install Windows after any other OS it will ruin your bootloader for sure.

well I gotta try... I need Windows for school so I need it on my Mac... 

I wonder if the fact that you're triple booting three completely different OSes is part of it.

Is a VM not possible? What do you need Windows for?

@handymanshandle it shouldn't matter. they all have their own boot partitions. 

@Cyberspirit it's sad, but most of my teachers are all Linux and Apple haters, so I want Windows on it not because I need it for a specific thing, but because otherwise they won't help me. 

like, we work with VMware in class, specifically VMware workstation. and I use Virtualbox on the macOS side and I can use VMware workstation on Linux. if I'm having an issue when I'm using virtual box they'll blame that and won't help, and if I'm having an issue on Workstation on the Linux side they'll blame Linux and won't help me. 

it's really really annoying, because often it's not the fault of the program I'm using and I can fix it after a while, but that wastes so much time I can't be bothered. so I'm just gonna install Windows on it to use in class so the teachers will help me  

@firelighter487 It very well could matter. Windows ain't perfect but the fact that you were already double booting both macOS (understandable, it's a Mac and I'd hope you'd have macOS on one) and a Linux distro doesn't make things any better.

@handymanshandle yeah maybe. I'm starting over. I've deleted everything except macOS, I'm gonna go through BootCamp again and then install Linux last, because I can specify a boot partition for it, whereas Windows will just format what it wants. 

Oh man, excuse the language but, fuck those teachers...

Maybe install Windows on an external SSD or HDD so, that way it at least can't mess with your data in case you have to reinstall it.

Not sure if there's a way to get back into Linux after Windows ruined the bootloader though. Hopefully, someone can help with that.

yeah I'm just gonna start over. I had nothing on that Linux install anyway. I'm gonna do bootcamp now, and then Linux last so Windows can't f*ck it over. 

and yea you're right about the teachers. i guess I need to live with it... 

I'm gonna cry... again after a Linux install I can't boot Windows. I'm gonna try one more thing and then I guess I need to give up on Linux... 

Maybe someone in the Linux sub-forum can help or, someone over at Level1Techs forum.

ok I gotta give up on linux for now  

@Cyberspirit maybe I could get it working, but this is my main machine that I do everything with. I need it to be reliable. I'm sure there's some way of getting it to work but I don't want it to randomly break. if this system breaks or I can't use it that could impact my education because I do all my schoolwork on this Mac. 

I'd try installing Windows-to-Go on a thumb-drive first before giving up on linux, @firelighter487. Also, your professors sound unprofessional. What do they teach?

Hmm...

• http://refit.sourceforge.net/myths/

@TopHatProductions115 my teachers teach networking and software (so vm's, Windows crap, windows server, etc) and they are all either pro-microsoft or against everything else lmao. 

@VegetableStu it boots the Windows installer in MBR as far as I know. if I manually boot the Windows usb in EFI by holding down option I get the thing that it can't install because of the MBR disk. so it must be emulating MBR in some way... 

also what do you mean at the start of the disk? how woud I do that?

Real admins have to work with non-Microsoft technologies just as fluently as they do the former. 

@VegetableStu my disk layout Is currently half macOS half Windows. 

it did not complain about it being MBR. I guess that's just how Boot Camp works. 

yeah... if I need Linux I'll use an external SSD lol... I can't deal with partitions dropping out. as I stated before this machine MUST be reliable and can never fail. 

I also HIGHLY doubt that chkdsk can fix a Linux partition, and even if it could I wouldn't trust it. 

I have all my school crap in iCloud.. apart from that I don't have much. everything else is stored on my Time Machine backup. 

I only use Windows for school, the things for which are stored in iCloud so if it bricks it's annoying but not a disaster... but it could waste my time which would result in me missing deadlines for school. that's why I want a reliable machine. it's happened before that stuff broke and I missed a deadline. so I don't want that again. 

I'll just use an external ssd for Linux if I need it. that seems like the best option...