Home Network Printer Problem

My WinXP Pro desktop has been part of my Linksys WRT54G wireless home
network for three years now (this machine is wired to the router). It
prints to an HP 722C printer on a Win95a machine on the network. Today,
a thunderstorm rolled through. There was just a brief flicker on my
computer (I have a Belkin surge protector/battery backup on all computers).
After that, when I try to print from my XP machine, it says "Windows
cannot print due to a problem with the current printer setup). I went
into Printers and Faxes and deleted the HP Deskjet 722C Printer. Then
I went to Add Printer. I selected Local Printer Attached to this Computer
(since I don't have a print server). It detects the proper port
(\\HOME COMPUTER\\HP (Local Printer) and finishes...but then says the
Test Page can't print.

Update: As I'm typing this post, I tried Adding a Printer again. This
time, instead of "keeping existing printer drivers" (recommended),
I told XP to install newer drivers. Suddenly, the Test Page printed,
and everything is working fine!!

Just for my own information, what happened to resolve this problem?

Thanks!
Scott

My guess is the drivers were damaged by the power surge. Perhaps the printer
was active during the storm. No UPS or surge protector can protect completely
against lightning. The only real protection is to unplug all power cords
including the modems and network cables.

"Scott" wrote:

> My WinXP Pro desktop has been part of my Linksys WRT54G wireless home
> network for three years now (this machine is wired to the router). It
> prints to an HP 722C printer on a Win95a machine on the network. Today,
> a thunderstorm rolled through. There was just a brief flicker on my
> computer (I have a Belkin surge protector/battery backup on all computers).
> After that, when I try to print from my XP machine, it says "Windows
> cannot print due to a problem with the current printer setup). I went
> into Printers and Faxes and deleted the HP Deskjet 722C Printer. Then
> I went to Add Printer. I selected Local Printer Attached to this Computer
> (since I don't have a print server). It detects the proper port
> (\\HOME COMPUTER\\HP (Local Printer) and finishes...but then says the
> Test Page can't print.
>
> Update: As I'm typing this post, I tried Adding a Printer again. This
> time, instead of "keeping existing printer drivers" (recommended),
> I told XP to install newer drivers. Suddenly, the Test Page printed,
> and everything is working fine!!
>
> Just for my own information, what happened to resolve this problem?
>
> Thanks!
> Scott
>

Mary,

Yes, that's my best guess, too...although I wasn't printing when the power
flickered. I always make it a point to unplug my computers and modems
during storms, however this one just snuck up on me.

An interesting sidenote: After I rebooted my HP DeskJet 722C printer icon
under Printers and Faxes showed up as "offline". It wouldn't delete. So
I hit "Add a Printer" and set up the printer again. Now the HP DeskJet 722C
(Copy 1) printer works properly after re-booting. I still can't delete
the offline printer icon, but the online printer is working fine. Is there
anything that should be done about this, or should I just leave it alone?

Thanks!
Scott

Mary wrote:
>
> My guess is the drivers were damaged by the power surge. Perhaps the printer
> was active during the storm. No UPS or surge protector can protect completely
> against lightning. The only real protection is to unplug all power cords
> including the modems and network cables.
>
> "Scott" wrote:
>
> > My WinXP Pro desktop has been part of my Linksys WRT54G wireless home
> > network for three years now (this machine is wired to the router). It
> > prints to an HP 722C printer on a Win95a machine on the network. Today,
> > a thunderstorm rolled through. There was just a brief flicker on my
> > computer (I have a Belkin surge protector/battery backup on all computers).
> > After that, when I try to print from my XP machine, it says "Windows
> > cannot print due to a problem with the current printer setup). I went
> > into Printers and Faxes and deleted the HP Deskjet 722C Printer. Then
> > I went to Add Printer. I selected Local Printer Attached to this Computer
> > (since I don't have a print server). It detects the proper port
> > (\\HOME COMPUTER\\HP (Local Printer) and finishes...but then says the
> > Test Page can't print.
> >
> > Update: As I'm typing this post, I(Copy 1 tried Adding a Printer again. This
> > time, instead of "keeping existing printer drivers" (recommended),
> > I told XP to install newer drivers. Suddenly, the Test Page printed,
> > and everything is working fine!!
> >
> > Just for my own information, what happened to resolve this problem?
> >
> > Thanks!
> > Scott
> >