PhunkJunkie7 wrote:
So I'm turning may old MacBook Pro mid-2015 into a learning computer. I want to have a bootcamp Windows and a Linux disk. I previously had MacOS 12.7.4 and already had a 50gb partition running Ubuntu. I transferred everything to my new MacBook Pro. I tried to remove Linux partition before erasing and resetting the Mac hard rive but it wouldn't work. So I erased the Mac hard drive, which seemed to work
You needed to erase the whole physical SSD. Disk Utility hides the physical drive from view by default, so you must click "View" and select "Show All Devices".
Disk Utility will only merge partitions into the one before it.
and then tried bootcamp for Win 11.
macOS only supports Win10 for Bootcamp Assistant. You may be able to upgrade a Win10 installation to Win11, but you will need to address the Win11 hardware requirements such as a TPM.
Also, when using Windows & Bootcamp Assistant on a Mac, you cannot modify the drive layout once you have installed Windows since it will break Windows booting. That would give you macOS & Windows. If you also want to boot Linux, then you will need to install Linux onto an external USB3 SSD (no need for a fast SSD since the USB3 ports on your laptop only support 500MB/s).
Here is an Apple article with instructions to install Win10 using Bootcamp Assistant:
Install Windows 10 on your Mac with Boot Camp Assistant - Apple Support
The only thing I can think of is to Etcher the ISO to a USB like I did with Linux but I haven't tried that yet.
A Windows ISO cannot be "burned" to a USB stick like a Linux installer. I have read that Unetbootin may be able to make a bootable USB installer from a Windows ISO, but I've never tried it. FYI, I don't like Unetbootin for making Linux USB installers because it will sometimes modify the Linux installer & how it boots. Etcher is the better app for creating a bootable Linux USB installer from an ISO.
However, you should not need to make a Win USB installer.....Bootcamp Assistant should take care of everything.
If you have a Windows system, then you can use a third party Windows app called Rufus to make a bootable Windows USB stick from an ISO. You can also download a Windows installer from MS using a Windows computer which will automatically create a Windows USB installer for you (may require the MS web browser.....it has been years since I tried it).
I'm trying to switch careers to IT and I really want to have a Win system and a Linux system to practice on. Thanks in advance! Condescending troll answers welcome as long as they are helpful.
Update: I updated the os to MacOS 10.13.6 High Sierra bc apparently this was the first one with APFS and it still is giving me an error.
I would try upgrading macOS back up to Monterey to install Win10. Things tend to break with older versions of macOS so it is best to use the most recent version of macOS possible which for a 2015 MBPro that would be macOS 12.x Monterey which is just a few years out of date so it should be Ok.
For Windows, you may be better off with a used PC. A business class PC is best since most low to mid-range consumer PCs are pure junk and may not be able to handle Win11 or even Linux. I tried to help someone some years ago and it was a cheap Windows laptop which could only run the version of Windows shipped from the factory. It also could not run Linux.....performance was way too slow to be useful, yet I am running Linux on laptops from 2007 without issue....even ran Linux on a laptop with just 2GB of RAM. The CPU & memory on many of the Windows low & mid range PCs are just pure junk which are not worth 2 cents.
Depending how you wish to learn and what you want to do with each OS, you may want to try installing Windows & Linux into a Virtual Machine if your computer has enough memory. Of course some things can only be done when installed on bare metal.
Using a Mac for other operating systems is not as easy as it is on a standard PC. Plus your 2015 laptop is the last Apple computer that can easily run Linux on bare metal. Forget any USB-C Intel Macs since much of the hardware is unsupported in Linux & likely never will be due to the T1 & T2 chips. There is some partial support of Linux on some M-series Macs (M1 & M2, but not M3/M4).
Knowing the command line for both Windows & Linux is a must for many things. You only need to know the basics. When you need to do something more, then you can expand your knowledge. The basic commands let you do a lot of things. Just remember there are no safety nets when using the command line.
