MacMini M2 - safari links save html page to documents folder and don't open page in browser

Thanks for the etrecheck link. In the spirit of its mission to aggregate disparate Mac information on the web into a usable form for schlubs like me, I'm recording the solution to my issue here – even though, like a rare exotic disease, no one else may ever run into it.

I use an old Kensington Orbital track ball. The equally old Kensingtonworks driver/software migrated when I moved everthing over from my old Macbook Pro to my new Mini and I didn't think to update it until I was already in the weeds. After I updated the software to Ventura level, problem seems to be solved.

Again, many thanks for the dialog and back and forth. Sometimes that's all it takes :-)

• I followed the directions here: How to use safe mode on your Mac - Apple Support for Mac with apple silicon. My machine, a Mac Mini M2, is new. This link Mac computers with Apple silicon - Apple Support provided this info: Mac mini introduced in 2020 or later is silicon.
• Following this information trail worked except when asked to login in safe mode, it wouldn't recognized my password.

Thank you for the tip to go safe mode. The problem I'm having is with a new Mac Mini, so I'm new to both Ventura and the set up protocols. That said when I launched into safe mode and reinstalled Ventura, the OS asked for my login: User Name and PW. My password failed. I restarted into user account and my PW worked, but the problem with hyperlinks sending HTML files to "download" folder persisted (not "documents" folder, as I noted earlier*. My bad.) There clearly is some kind of conflict with something I've installed, although I migrated everything using the migration app from my 2015 macbook that didn't have Ventura on it.

*I also failed earlier to mention that I can open a link doing an "option" key link click.

Based on your previous reply, I doubt that there's anymore here for you to diagnostically go on, but if you have any thoughts about my failure to login to safe mode, I would appreciated it. Many thanks, peter

Yeah, seems like I only learn something new (unfortunately it seems like it's always the hard way) is to buy a new machine and peripherals and try establish a new comfort zone (while still trying to make some of the old legacy stuff work in the mix).