P2P printing headache

It seems each time we shut down our small P2P network at the office, we have
a devil of a time getting it back up and running as it did prior to shut
down. Most of issues center upon the various designated network printers we
have connected to various PCs around the office.

With the last shutdown this weekend (as a precaution in light of MSBlaster),
our startup this morning was filled with spooler errors and unrecognized
printer devices. Needless to say printing across the network was
impossible; moreover, printing from any one of the PCs that had a printed
connected directly to it was equally impossible when attempting to send
something to that connected device. The only result was another spooler
error.

Only after a repeated cold boots of the various PCs with printers and the
network hub (some took as many as 1/2 dozen reboots) did we finally return
to some resemblance of printing order.

My question is, are we doing something wrong? As little as a year ago, we
had no such problem. Over time, it seems these spooler issues have been
slowly snowballing, though I admit my recall on this may be a bit hazy.
It's just that now it seems to be becoming most intolerable, to the point
where we tend to leave everything on 24/7 even when we close shop for
extended periods.

The network currently consists of a 24-port hub and about 10 or so PCs
(consolodation sucks); one is a Win98SE, two are XP Pro, one Win2000, and
the rest are WinMe-based. All the printers are connected to the network via
a number of the WinMe and the lone 98SE computers; WinMe had been the base
PC OS for the network when we finally decided to go P2P over Nikenet.

We constantly scan for virii, and make certain our subscriptions and
definitions are up-to-date. While a few have entered into our midst, all
were always contained at the point of entry (if NAV is to be believed).

Gut feel tells me that this is a WinMe issue, but it's only that: a gut
feeling.

Any advice would be appreciated.