Ginevra Posted December 18, 2014 Share Posted December 18, 2014 I bought a new print/fax/AIO thingy. It should be totally awesome, printing wirelessly from a multitude of devices. Should be, but not. :( My Mac desktop, which I intend to be the primary document creator, is an OS X, v. 10.5.8. The printer doesn't have a driver for less than 10.6. Is there anything I can do to make this happen, preferably without trying to geek-speak on an HP forum where I have no clue what I'm talking about? Also, is it possible for me to buy a new OS for the desktop? How does that work, exactly? Do I have to take it to the Genius bar for an overhaul? Thanks in advance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Firefly Posted December 18, 2014 Share Posted December 18, 2014 You could be able to upgrade your OS online by downloading the new software, provided it's compatible with your current Mac desktop. What machine are you using (Model/production year)? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miss Peregrine Posted December 18, 2014 Share Posted December 18, 2014 I can't get to my computer right now so I'm not sure if this is exact but you should be able to update your OS. Left corner click on the apple. Then on OS or something like that. :) it should tell you what version you have and let you update . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted December 18, 2014 Share Posted December 18, 2014 You could be able to upgrade your OS online by downloading the new software, provided it's compatible with your current Mac desktop. What machine are you using (Model/production year)? It's a 2009 desktop with OS X Leopard. So, for instance, there have been a few updates to the OSX since then; I think it went Snow Leopard after Leopard, then Lion. Now, it looks like the newest one is called Yosemite. But I don't know if I can get Yosemite, which then upgrades the whole OS, which then will let me interact with the new printer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted December 18, 2014 Share Posted December 18, 2014 I can't get to my computer right now so I'm not sure if this is exact but you should be able to update your OS. Left corner click on the apple. Then on OS or something like that. :) it should tell you what version you have and let you update . There's the "Software Update" thing - I ran that today. But to actually bring the whole OS up to what is current (Yosemite), I don't know if I can do that, and I don't know if *I* can do that. If it does anything squirrely, I will not know how to fix the weirdness. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hikin' Mama Posted December 18, 2014 Share Posted December 18, 2014 Well, I have absolutely no advice for you, but wanted to say I like the term techno-doof and might start using it when referring to myself. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Word Nerd Posted December 18, 2014 Share Posted December 18, 2014 According to this, your machine is new enough to get Yosemite, but you would first have to upgrade to Snow Leopard. That might be all you need at this point. If it were me, I would then upgrade to Yosemite, as there have been several big improvements to OS X since Snow Leopard. Just back everything up first. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs Mungo Posted December 18, 2014 Share Posted December 18, 2014 There's the "Software Update" thing - I ran that today. But to actually bring the whole OS up to what is current (Yosemite), I don't know if I can do that, and I don't know if *I* can do that. If it does anything squirrely, I will not know how to fix the weirdness. Really, just do the updates one at a time. It should be fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Firefly Posted December 18, 2014 Share Posted December 18, 2014 Ah good. Yes, you'll be fine- just follow the steps here. (But, I always suggest backing up first.) Good luck. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mamaraby Posted December 18, 2014 Share Posted December 18, 2014 Ditto on the suggestion for the updates. I have a late 2009 Mac mini and I had to go specifically to the App Store and tell it to update to Yosemite, it didn't pop up in the updates section. The last two OS updates have been free. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted December 18, 2014 Share Posted December 18, 2014 Thanks, everyone! I am going to give it a go! I'll start by doing Snow Leopard and then perhaps do it again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bagel270 Posted December 18, 2014 Share Posted December 18, 2014 I would just update to Snow Leopard. Yosemite is still buggy. Snow Leopard should be able to run your printer. What printer is it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Word Nerd Posted December 19, 2014 Share Posted December 19, 2014 Yosemite is still buggy. What have you noticed? I haven't had any problems with it. Something else to consider is that they stopped doing patches for Snow Leopard, so there won't be any further security updates available for it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alessandra Posted December 19, 2014 Share Posted December 19, 2014 I have a Mac the age of your Mac and started with Leopard. My advice would be to check with Apple and see if you need to go upgrade by upgrade, rather than paying upgrade by upgrade. Imo, it would be worth paying the $19 or whatever for a call if you need to. Iirc, you can go from Snow Leopard directly to Mountain Lion, bypassing Lion? Be aware that, prior to Lion, Mac OS included a program called Rosetta that allowed you to run many older, Power PC type programs. So, beginning with Lion, some older programs won't work. As for Yosemite, be cautious if you have lot of software, since many programs do not at present work with Yosemite. I'll try to find a list link and post. http://roaringapps.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted December 19, 2014 Share Posted December 19, 2014 I would just update to Snow Leopard. Yosemite is still buggy. Snow Leopard should be able to run your printer. What printer is it? Oh, it's an HP blah-d-blah All in one. :D How's that description? Hold on, I'll go look...Officejet Pro 8600 series. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted December 19, 2014 Share Posted December 19, 2014 I have a Mac the age of your Mac and started with Leopard. My advice would be to check with Apple and see if you need to go upgrade by upgrade, rather than paying upgrade by upgrade. Imo, it would be worth paying the $19 or whatever for a call if you need to. Iirc, you can go from Snow Leopard directly to Mountain Lion, bypassing Lion? Be aware that, prior to Lion, Mac OS included a program called Rosetta that allowed you to run many older, Power PC type programs. So, beginning with Lion, some older programs won't work. As for Yosemite, be cautious if you have lot of software, since many programs do not at present work with Yosemite. I'll try to find a list link and post. http://roaringapps.com That's really good info for me. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bagel270 Posted December 19, 2014 Share Posted December 19, 2014 Snow Leopard and the HP 8600 is fine. That's what my husband had, until we upgraded it to Yosemite. Lots of wheel spinning, black screens after sleeping, and slowness happened. It's usable, but annoying. Seemed better after switching to chrome from Safari. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Word Nerd Posted December 19, 2014 Share Posted December 19, 2014 My advice would be to check with Apple and see if you need to go upgrade by upgrade, rather than paying upgrade by upgrade. Imo, it would be worth paying the $19 or whatever for a call if you need to. Iirc, you can go from Snow Leopard directly to Mountain Lion, bypassing Lion? That question is already addressed on the upgrade link above. You can go from Snow Leopard directly to Yosemite. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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