Dell V305 Printer Problems

[hsmomx3]

The Dell V305 printer came with my new Dell computer (Vista Home Premium OS).

The printer works okay but there are times when it will not print documents from the computer. I get a pop up that says the computer is not communicating with the printer even though everything is plugged in properly and the settings have not been touched.

I have heard that this happens with the V305. It has wireless capabilities but I use the USB option instead.

If you had to choose another printer that does not fail you, what would it be? Would need a printer/copier/scanner printer.

Thanks.

[GovernmentShrinker]

I'm afraid I can't help you with firewall settings. You may be able print using a USB drive, though according to the manual, the printer has to be simultaneously connected to a computer (see section I copied below from the manual) -- but I think it doesn't have to be the same computer that the file to be printed is on (otherwise, why would you put the USB drive into the printer). So . . . I'd suggest trying two things: 1) In case the compatibility problem involves some issue that doesn't affect USB drive printing, keep your new computer connected the printer, copy the file you want to print onto a USB drive, stick the USB drive into the printer, and follow the manual instructions below for "Office FIle Mode". 2) If that doesn't work, and assuming your old computer is still around and at least marginally functional, connect your old computer to the printer, and try printing from the USB drive again, Office File Mode Office File mode is only available when a memory card or USB key containing documents is inserted into the printer or when the printer is connected to a configured internal network adapter. The printer recognizes files that have the following file extensions:  .doc (Microsoft® Word)  .xls (Microsoft Excel)  .ppt (Microsoft PowerPoint®)  .pdf (Adobe® Portable Document Format)  .rtf (Rich Text Format)  .docx (Microsoft Word Open Document Format)  .xlsx (Microsoft Excel Open Document Format)  .pptx (Microsoft PowerPoint Open Document Format)  .wps (Microsoft Works)  .wpd (Word Perfect) NOTE: To use the Office File Mode menus, you must connect the printer to the computer using a USB cable, and install the appropriate printer software on your computer.

[GovernmentShrinker]

Sorry about the lack of paragraph breaks in my previous post. It looked all nice and paragraphed as I typed it, but the section I copied in from the online manual apparently had some hidden html code that messed things up.

[hsmomx3]

That’s okay. I am grateful for the help. I think my kids will know how to do this. If it works, great, I will be very happy.

[hsmomx3]

I noticed when I turn my printer off, then on, it says wireless adapter detected. I wonder if this is my problem. I have no clue how to fix this.

[hsmomx3]

Out of the blue, my printer started working again.

I noticed in windows update, some drivers were downloaded. Not sure if that had anything to do with it. Strange....

[GovernmentShrinker]

I don’t think that would be a problem. The fact that a piece of hardware has been detected should be either good or irrelevant (depending on whether that particular hardware is needed for the task at hand). But check just in case there are any printer settings for wireless vs. cable connection. If the printer is looking for a wireless signal but only getting a cable signal, I suppose that could be a problem, but I really doubt it (more likely, it would just print from any signal it receives).