Macbook Air M1 Gold Chip OS Sonoma (January 2024) purchased online Apple Store

Came with SIP enabled & has 19 inch LG Monitor & Apple purchased USB-C to USB Adapter AME/USB-C VGA Multiport Adapter with Seagate Plus Extended Hard Drive. MB Air fails to connect with Time Machine after each computer shut down/Log In. Obliged to physically disconnect cable from EHD & plug in again to get Seagate icon to re-appear on screen then manually start back up. Have spent several weeks and over 30 phone calls (many of over 2 hours each) to Apple Support Senior Advisors who have tried unsuccessfully to resolve the issue. As the situation stands at the time of writing, Apple Support are of the opinion that the SIP is the cause of the problem but that they have no control over what they insist is a third party! They also infer very strongly that because I am 91 years old I may have forgotten that I installed SIP.................. I'd be most grateful if anyone may be able to assist me before my use-by date expires.