What type of printer are you having a problem with? Is it on and do you see any error messages on the printer? How is it connected to the computer? Do you have the driver installed? Some printers need to have the driver installed with a USB connection before moving to a network install. (For all-in-ones, the driver/software must be installed before you connect the data cable.)
If a wired connection, try new cables (fully seated) and different ports. If it is a USB connection, try a direct connection if the printer is connected to a USB hub or print server. Make sure that the cord is 6' or shorter. Check if other devices work. (I've seen a few computers loose their USB ports for no apparent reason. On desktops, try rebooting the computer and uninstalling the USB drivers and rebooting again. This is in the Device Manager for Windows machines. On a few laptops, sometimes removing the battery and the power adapter will reset the ports.)
For network connections, make sure that your network is up and that you aren't getting signal loss issues (for wireless networks). Try a wired connection to check for network loss. To check a network, I tend to check a few points with the ping command. For Windows, launch the Command prompt and ping the numerical IP location of your router. Then ping the IP location of the DNS server. Can you see the printer on your list of network places. (The format for ping is
ping 192.168.1.1 or ping www.google.com followed by enter. The returned message will be either the time for a small packet of data to go to the location and return or a connection timed out.)
If you are losing your network connection, reboot your router and broadband modem. (Try rebooting the router first.) Make sure your firewall is not blocking access to the printer.
I hope this helps. Please write back for more information with specifics for your printer.
Cindy Wells
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