Printer plugged in = slooooow boot time. Wow?

[Jayce]

I'll check that when I get home, however I have doubt that'll fix it up considering that nothing major changed recently with the computer.

i.e. nobody tinkered with bios.

 

[eyeCpc]

can you go into bios and disable boot by usb?

there should be an option to boot with usb devices. try that and see if it helps any

A printer won't be seen in the bios as any boot device. On the other hand an external usb(flash, HD) drive will appear in the list of hard drives installed on the system. The drive seen at the top of that list is the one set as the default boot device.

 

[tjones14]

I've had the same thing happen to me with an HP printer. Moved the printer to another computer and the system would boot but wasn't able to find the printer to install it. I agree with eyeCpc about the Control Panel > Printers & Faxes, it is a related but separate issue. Most likely what has happened is that the printer has failed (Lexmark are notorios for dropping on a moments notice) and it took some of the windows system files with it when it dumped.

My suggestion, try to use the printer WiFi, and if it works, leave it be. Copy off any necessary files to CD/DVR/Online storage and do a clean windows install on the system. THEN, have your Mom get an in-case card reader and install it.

T.

 

[eyeCpc]

On the other hand you may be surprized to find out it's nothing more then a major problem with the present copy of Windows if you find nothing wrong with the printer following a repair or full reinstall of XP Pro. Once the system files start getting trashed and the registry polluted over a period of time it can simulate hardware problems.

With the XP disk in the drive try running the "sfc /scannow" command at the Start>Run to see if that helps any before seeing a clean install go on. You may want to test the printer out on a different system to see if you come up with any problems there to confirm or rule out the printer itself.