New MacBook Pro downloaded my printer driver but not the software

[jaw444]

 I got a new MacBook Pro with OS 10.13.1.  I installed my printer right away, i had been using it with a 2012 built MacBook Pro which had OS 10.12.6 on it.  The Mac OS downloaded the driver for the printer and it worked from the start.  But this didn't include installation of the software such as HP Utility.  This all has happened at a time when i was getting warnings that my ink was getting low and i want to have the printer software as well as the driver. 

I went to the link on HP site where you download your driver and software, i entered my computer OS, and i got a message that said there is no printer software for my operating system.  I tried entering in that my OS was 10.12 instead, and it said there was no software for that one either, but there is software for that one, i have it on my older laptop. It works fine, it was showing me the graphic of how much ink i had left in each cartridge. That computer as the HP Utility and the other software program, even though HP site auto-filled "no software for this OS."  I bought this printer when i had a different OS on that Mac, either Mountain Lion or Yosemite, no problem downloading  and installing it.  Now that it has been updated to the 10.12 OS, which is called Sierra, the software still works fine. I am sure that if i updated the OS to the one on my new computer, 10.13, called High Sierra, it would work too.  

Maybe it's only on the computer because it was installed on an earlier OS, but the important thing to me is that it works on the later OS that HP site says there's no software for.  It works very well.  i am wondering if i can drag and drop the application and maybe some of the system or user software onto my new computer and see if i can get it working.  The printer works great and i don't have any reason to replace it.  Just wondering if anyone has any creatice or outside the box ideas about how to put the software for this computer onto my newer OS.  

[CherylG]

Did you try HP Easy Start to try to download the software/driver?

https://support.hp.com/us-en/drivers/selfservice/swdetails/hp-officejet-pro-8610-e-all-in-one-printe...

[jaw444]

Thanks for the reply, i didn't know about that.  There is the operating system of my old computer, 10.12.  
It says it will d/l the driver.  

I'm hesitant to install the driver, only because my computer used its own mechanism, whatever it is, to download the driver, which is installed, and i like to think it's the right one for the new OS (10.13, and the second version of that one as well)--i would like, if possible, to just install the software, the utility.  Maybe it will come with the driver that i could get on HP Easy Start Up, and instead of installing it, i can just download it and see if there's any way to get the software that way.  

It probably wouldn't work, i guess, to just drag the utility software that's installed on the old computer over to the new computer--there's probably files i might need and don't know what they are. 

Anyway, thanks for telling me about Easy Start up, i didn't know about it.  i'll spend a little more time looking into how i might use it. i think it's my best chance. 

[CherylG · Accepted solution]

@jaw444

Under "Fixes" it says- 

• Added Mac OS 10.13 support 

I am not familiar with MAC so maybe OS 10.13 would be completely different from OS 10.13.1. Also don't think you can just drag files from one machine to another as far as programs/software. On Windows machines you must run the installer so Registry entries are made to insure software works correctly.

[jaw444]

Thanks for your feedback, i am apprehensive about dragging and dropping applications from one Mac to another for those reasons. It has worked sometimes though.  

OS 10.13 will be essentially like 10.13.1 and the newest one, 10.13.2.  the changes include bug fixes and supposed improvements. 

From Cheryl's post, it looks like i can now get the most up to date HP software for this printer on the HP site and i am going to find out tomorrow when i try it if i will be able to get the utility that tells you, among other things, how much ink you have left.