Not without physically damaging the enclosure by breaking seals, and that is assuming it’s the enclosure that has failed, and not the internal drive. It’s usually the enclosure that fails.

In theory, you could expose it to a very, very strong magnetic field but it needs to be VERY strong. Like lifting cars in a junk yard strong, or running it through an MRI. And you’ll have no way to check if it worked.

The other way you are nearly 100% sure the data will never be accessed is to send the drive back to Amazon where it will likely be lost in bureaucratic black hole.

On 29 Jan 2025, at 20:48, Jim Saklad via groups.io wrote:

Andrew Buc wrote:

When I connected my Time Machine drive (previously used with my 2012 Intel Mac and formatted HFS+) to my new M4 Mac running Sequoia 15.2, I got a popup asking me what I wanted to do about the existing backups on the drive. I don't remember all the choices, but I wonder if I made the wrong choice. Here's a screen shot of the Time Machine driver in Finder:

It looks to me like you are making Time Machine backups OF your computer’s internal drive TO your computer’s internal drive.

The screen shot shows only my Time Machine drive, not the internal SSD.

On 29 Jan 2025, at 20:48, Jim Saklad via groups.io wrote:

Andrew Buc wrote:

When I connected my Time Machine drive (previously used with my 2012 Intel Mac and formatted HFS+) to my new M4 Mac running Sequoia 15.2, I got a popup asking me what I wanted to do about the existing backups on the drive. I don't remember all the choices, but I wonder if I made the wrong choice. Here's a screen shot of the Time Machine driver in Finder:

It looks to me like you are making Time Machine backups OF your computer’s internal drive TO your computer’s internal drive.

No, I’ve been making Time Machine backups to an external drive all along. That didn’t change when I switched from the old Mac to the new Mac.

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Andrew Buc wrote:

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When I connected my Time Machine drive (previously used with my 2012 Intel Mac and formatted HFS+) to my new M4 Mac running Sequoia 15.2, I got a popup asking me what I wanted to do about the existing backups on the drive. I don't remember all the choices, but I wonder if I made the wrong choice. Here's a screen shot of the Time Machine driver in Finder:


"Andrew Buc's computer" is the old Mac, "Mac mini" is the new one. A problem soon cropped up: Time Machine doesn't recognize the legacy backups, and there's very little space on the drive for new ones. Time Machine made 3 backups and refuses to make any more. I thought Time Machine would seamlessly delete the oldest backups and make new ones, but not so. My local Mac tech referred me to this page:



The pertinent section is "Forcing a Mac to inherit a backup." They tell you to enter this command in terminal:

sudo tmutil inheritbackup

I couldn't get it to work. My tech later reported back as follows:

Interestingly, I just did a test as Disk Utility in Sequoia can reformat a disk to be HFS+. When I then use that disk as a time machine destination, the disk gets reformatted as APFS. If there's existing data on it, and then I try to set up Time Machine, I only get the choice to erase the disk or use a different volume.

I wonder if something has changed and we won't be able to use the Time Machine inherit command. I admit it's been years since I've attempted it.

If the tech is right, I expect I'll have to format the Time Machine drive and start fresh. As I write this, I'm copying the "Andrew Buc's computer" folder to a spare external HDD I had lying around. If I ever have to restore an old file from that drive, I'll have to rummage through the drive with Finder, but it'll be better than nothing.

Any thoughts before I throw in the towel and format the Time Machine Drive? Thanks.

Most of the printers I’ve used with my Macs have been by Canon, and I’ve been pleased with them. My current Canon TR8620a is 3 months old. But I’ve also had two Brother inkjet printers, which I liked.

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Try the free version of Map My Walk and see what results you get.

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Yes, I noticed the difference in web site names. I thought the app name was a poor choice, still.?

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The past 3 days I’ve been staying at a dear friend’s condo on a beach in Watsonville, pancake-flat and renowned for “Strawberry Fields, Forever.” (The fruit, not the song). However, each day when I walk along the beach the tiny shorebirds have no difficulty racing up the inches-high variants between low and high tides. However, when I’m done and look at the walks I’ve taken in my iOS Strava app, I see that it’s recorded altitude changes exceeding 1,000 feet!

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Thanks, Randy and all. I will definitely not get HP again, but I think I will buy the ink you recommended.

A few months ago I purchased two Segate external HDs for my MBP. I designated one as my Time Machine B/U on one partition and additional storage on another partition. I haven’t plugged in the second HD yet.

Two days ago the drive I had plugged in just quit. Nada. Nothing. Even disk utility can’t see it. The power light is on but there’s no access. I even tried swapping cables to see if it was a cable issue. No joy.

I’m going to return the drive to Amazon and demand a refund. But I’m concerned about all the data on the drive. Since I can’t access it, I can’t erase it. Outside of taking a sledge hammer or a .45 to it is there anything I can do to prevent the data from being accessed?

Frank R. Parth

On Jan 28, 2025, at 7:59 PM, Andrew Buc <abuc@...> wrote:

Would that void the warranty?

LEGALLY, it CAN’T void the warranty. However, Apple won’t warranty the upgraded SSD itself. The upgraded SSD will be warrantied by the company that makes the upgrade kit.


__________________________________________________

Randy B. Singer
Co-author of The Macintosh Bible (4th, 5th, and 6th editions)

Essential But Hard To Find Macintosh Software and Advice

__________________________________________________

On Jan 28, 2025, at 9:57 PM, Randy B. Singer via groups.io <randy@...> wrote:

Canon PIXMA TR8620a

Sorry, it looks like prices just recently went up:

Canon PIXMA TR8620a

$180 direct from Canon:


$179


$180


$179




__________________________________________________

Randy B. Singer
Co-author of The Macintosh Bible (4th, 5th, and 6th editions)

Essential But Hard To Find Macintosh Software and Advice

__________________________________________________

On Jan 28, 2025, at 12:59 PM, floridabouvs via groups.io <floridabouvs@...> wrote:

I have an HP OfficeJet Pro 8020 Smart Printer. It’s a few years old but functions very well.
Except one problem — it uses a lot of ink, and that ink costs big bucks. Apparently I can’t use ink refills with this printer, as I used to do in past with a different printer.

All inkjet printers use a lot of ink. It’s the nature of the beast. If you do a lot of printing, and especially if you don’t need to print color photographs, a black and white laser printer is the way to go. Otherwise you’re stuck with the downsides of using an inkjet printer.

Your HP OfficeJet Pro 8020 uses a four cartridge system. Part number 910XL. Here are all four cartridges, brand new, for a smidge under $50, which is likely a good bit cheaper than you’ve been paying.


Replacement HP 910XL Ink 4-Pack Cartridges - High Yield: 1 Black, 1 Cyan, 1 Magenta, and 1 Yellow
$49.56


For future reference, I’ve been BEGGING Macintosh users, for years, not to purchase HP printers. Their hardware is quite good, but their service and support, especially for Macintosh users, has been known to be abominable.

For laser printers I recommend Brother (but not all of their models), and for inkjet printers I recommend Canon (but only a specific few of their models.)

So I am considering getting a new printer. Recommendations appreciated for a printer that I can buy refilled ink for.

I don’t recommend “refurbished” or “refilled” ink cartridges. In my experience, the reliability just isn’t there. What I do recommend is third party (non-OEM), BRAND NEW, “compatible” cartridges. But only from a few sources that have offered dependable reliability over many years.

The brand of inkjet printer that you can most often find compatible cartridges for, cheap, is Canon.

If you feel that you really want a different printer, this is the one that I’ve been recommending recently that is most like the one that you will be replacing:

Canon PIXMA TR8620a

$140 direct from Canon:


$140


$140


$139


Macintosh downloadable drivers and manual:
<>

Note that there is a TR8620 and a TR8620a model. They are identical, except the “TR8620” (no “a”) has Bluetooth as well as AirPrint. The "a" model only has AirPrint. If you have an iPhone and a Mac, you only need AirPrint. But you need Bluetooth if you have an Android phone (e.g. Samsung).
So…if you have a Macintosh and an iPhone, EITHER model will be fine. The "a" model will be cheaper.

Excellent source for ink cartridges when you run out:
$19 all 5 cartridges



__________________________________________________

Randy B. Singer
Co-author of The Macintosh Bible (4th, 5th, and 6th editions)

Essential But Hard To Find Macintosh Software and Advice

__________________________________________________

On 27 Jan 2025, at 2:23, Randy B. Singer via groups.io wrote:

You can now get a third-party internal storage (SSD) upgrade kit for the new M4 Mac mini!

(The M4 Mac mini has a slotted and upgradeable internal SSD.)

How to upgrade the SSD in your M4 Mac mini

When purchasing an M4 Mac mini, a 2TB SSD adds a $800 premium to the total when purchased from Apple. This upgrade is far less than that, at $259 shipped to your door! However, the upgrade requires some skill, and the ability to see extremely small screws.

I previously said, “Would that void the warranty?”

Never mind, I’ve answered my own question. Last sentence of the article is, “The operation isn't warranty-voiding, but we're also certain that it's the first thing Apple is going to blame if something goes wrong with the computer.” I think that’s something to keep in mind also.

On 27 Jan 2025, at 2:23, Randy B. Singer via groups.io wrote:

You can now get a third-party internal storage (SSD) upgrade kit for the new M4 Mac mini!

(The M4 Mac mini has a slotted and upgradeable internal SSD.)

How to upgrade the SSD in your M4 Mac mini

When purchasing an M4 Mac mini, a 2TB SSD adds a $800 premium to the total when purchased from Apple. This upgrade is far less than that, at $259 shipped to your door! However, the upgrade requires some skill, and the ability to see extremely small screws.

Would that void the warranty?

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Brent wrote:

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I like an older model of Canon:?. I was amazed to see how much the price has increased since I bought the first one several years ago for $100! ?You might look at our message archives to see Randy Singer’s current recommendations.

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floridabouvs wrote:

I have an HP OfficeJet Pro 8020 Smart Printer. It’s a few years old but functions very well.
Except one problem — it uses a lot of ink, and that ink costs big bucks. Apparently I can’t use ink refills with this printer, as I used to do in past with a different printer.
So I am considering getting a new printer. Recommendations appreciated for a printer that I can buy refilled ink for.

Do you actually *need* color a lot?