I have a new laptop which I am trying to link with my newish (non wi-fi) printer. The problem is that the new laptop does not have a drawer in the side to insert the CD that comes with the printer, and even though I plug the printer into the USB port and press 'add device or printer' in Network on the laptop, it just keeps coming back as 'no devices found'. I have tried transferring the info on the printer's CD onto a memory stick, then onto the new laptop, but to no avail. It's driving me mad, as the printer works perfectly with my other laptop, which DOES have the drawer in the side and was simplicity itself to set up! Am I missing an easy fix??
As Togo states, you simply need to download (and run) the set-up software.
Provide us the make & model of the printer if you need help finding the link; please also tell us which operating system, e.g. Windows 8.1, your new laptop uses. Alternatively, seek it out yourself from the link I gave you before:
http://www8.hp.com/uk/en/drivers.html