Old peripherals and new Mini
I have replaced my old Mini (2012, model A1347) with a new M1 Mini. I would like advice on how best to connect my old peripherals.
What I have are:
- USB laser printer,
- USB external hard drive,
- USB keyboard,
- USB scanner,
- HDMI monitor,
- VGA monitor, and
- occasionally USB-iPhone.
The first monitor is easy; it plugs straight into the HDMI ports of both old and new Minis.
From my choices get complex.
I suppose I could use a wireless connection to the laser printer. I have done it before but found the wired connection more reliable.
The external hard drive is the back up. With a new Mini, back up should not be important for many, many years. (Fingers crossed.)
I want to keep the USB keyboard and scanner.
I had the VGA monitor plugged in to the old Mini with a Thunderbolt-VGA adapter. But that was a previous version of Thunderbolt.
What I have on the back of the M1 Mini are two USB-A ports and two Thunderbolt-USB 4 ports. The question is how to allocate them to my old peripherals.
I expect to use some combination of adapters and dongles.
Is there an adapter for Thunderbolt-USB 4 to VGA? Is so that would take care of the secondary monitor.
Is there a similar adapter from Thunderbolt-USB 4 to USB-A? If so, would any of my old peripherals do better plugged into this port compared to a USB-A port?
That would leave three USB peripherals to divide between the two USB-A ports on the M1 mini. I have read that a dongle could be used for this purpose. I think I had a dongle thirty years ago. Is there anything to be concerned about in using a dongle now?
Thanks in advance for any advice.
Mac mini, macOS 10.15
