Resolved Bootcamp Concerns/Questions

[MitoMadness]

So first off, hello!
I have a MacBook Pro (13-inch, 2016, Two Thunderbolt 3 ports), and I'd like to pursue Bootcamp for Windows gaming (big video game fan).
But instead of installing Bootcamp onto the Macbook's SSD, I'd like to install it on an external SSD.

So my questions are as follows (sorry, there's a few!);
~ Does this tutorial still hold up to todays standards?

~ Would this External SSD be a good purchase for what I'd like to do? https://www.newegg.com/p/N82E16820147641
~ To have the External drive, I need a USB 3 Port Hub (or more) to run my headset, mouse, and the drive itself. I have a single USB to USB-C adapter already. Any recommendations for a good USB 3 Port Hub?
~ And lastly, with Windows 10 being on the External SSD, am I now allowed to accept the Windows 10 updates so I can play my games as they should be played? (Seeing as updating through the normal Bootcamp setup can mess up the SSD of my Macbook)

Thank you in advance for your expertise!

 

[casperes1996]

The tutorial should work; This can all be done without VMWare and all, but you should be fine just following along anyway.

Don't know where you got the idea that updating Windows can mess up your drive if it's internally installed. Boot Camp is an officially supported solution, and so is updating.

 

[MitoMadness]

The tutorial should work; This can all be done without VMWare and all, but you should be fine just following along anyway.

Don't know where you got the idea that updating Windows can mess up your drive if it's internally installed. Boot Camp is an officially supported solution, and so is updating.

I've updated in the past, and then my hard drive wouldn't let me into my computer. Apple Store's response was that it was due to updating Windows. They had to wipe the SSD and return it to factory default.
But regardless, thank you for answering the question about that tutorial!

 

[casperes1996]

I've updated in the past, and then my hard drive wouldn't let me into my computer. Apple Store's response was that it was due to updating Windows. They had to wipe the SSD and return it to factory default.

How do you mean it wouldn't let you in? Was there a firmware lock on it?
Windows can't write to HFS+ or APFS, so shouldn't be able to impact the Mac side of things. Could've messed with the partition table I suppose but that can be fixed with GDisk.

But regardless, thank you for answering the question about that tutorial!

Cheerio-

 

[MitoMadness]

How do you mean it wouldn't let you in? Was there a firmware lock on it?
Windows can't write to HFS+ or APFS, so shouldn't be able to impact the Mac side of things. Could've messed with the partition table I suppose but that can be fixed with GDisk.

Let me see if I can find the pictures of when it all happened..
For context in case I can't find them, I'll explain as best as I can as to what happened.

So I had Bootcamp installed, simply with games on my Windows partition. And whenever I'd want to play those games, I'd shut down the computer, turn it back on while holding alt/option, and select the Windows partition to boot up in.
One of those times when I was ready to boot back into OSX from Windows, I turned on the computer and was given a blue screen with a bunch of white writing. And then the computer would turn off. I'd try to turn it back on, and no matter what I'd do, I'd get that blue screen.
Now booting up Mac in recovery mode was completely fine, but clearly something was wrong. So that's when I made an appointment with the Apple Store. Their answer was that it was Windows causing the problem, and that it was the updates that made this happen. I don't know how accurate the answer was (because admittedly, I didn't feel like my problem was understood by them), but this is all I have to go off of. And so because of that, I'm quite frankly terrified to really use Bootcamp on my Macbook anymore.

Found the pictures! First picture is the screen as it would appear if I tried to turn on my computer. Second picture is accessing my SSD (when in recovery mode) to see how it looked. My Bootcamp partition had now looked like this, and couldn't be deleted or altered.

 

[casperes1996]

Found the pictures! First picture is the screen as it would appear if I tried to turn on my computer. Second picture is accessing my SSD (when in recovery mode) to see how it looked. My Bootcamp partition had now looked like this, and couldn't be deleted or altered.

Right, OK; What happened is that there was an issue during the installation of a Windows update. A power surge or something could've caused it - something else could've as well, but power loss while writing data is typically how this happens. Windows then figured it'd set a boot flag for the system telling it to boot into Windows recovery since it knew the Windows install was probably damaged. This must've overwritten your attempts to boot macOS. Could've likely been fixed without a complete wipe, but the geniuses probably didn't want to consider too much what happened on the Windows route and just chose the path of least resistance.

 

[MitoMadness]

Right, OK; What happened is that there was an issue during the installation of a Windows update. A power surge or something could've caused it - something else could've as well, but power loss while writing data is typically how this happens. Windows then figured it'd set a boot flag for the system telling it to boot into Windows recovery since it knew the Windows install was probably damaged. This must've overwritten your attempts to boot macOS. Could've likely been fixed without a complete wipe, but the geniuses probably didn't want to consider too much what happened on the Windows route and just chose the path of least resistance.

Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU. I may not be very tech savvy, but this made complete sense to me! And it's definitely the shutting down while updating that caused the damage. An update popup appeared while I was playing a game, so I had started said update accidentally by pressing keys for the game.

I feel so much more comfortable with updating Windows now. But for the future, if this were to happen again for whatever reason, what would be my next step to fixing my computer (instead of having Geniuses wiping the SSD)? If it's an at home solution, that would be even better!

 

[casperes1996]

I feel so much more comfortable with updating Windows now. But for the future, if this were to happen again for whatever reason, what would be my next step to fixing my computer (instead of having Geniuses wiping the SSD)? If it's an at home solution, that would be even better!

I don't know if you did last time, but zapping PRAM should fix it I would think.