Connection keeps dropping between HP desktop PC and Photosmart C5550
September 2, 2011: I have an HP Photosmart C5550 printer/scanner/copier which is hard-connected (via USB) to my HP Pavillion Elite HPE-400y desktop PC using Windows 7, which I've had for about a year now. Within the last month or two, the online connection to the printer has started dropping for no obvious reason. The USB cord appears to be okay, and the physical connection between the two devices is secure and tight. The printer will be connected for several minutes and work fine, but then the connection simply drops, the printer button lights start flashing, and I get a message on the printer mini-screen telling me to power the printer off and then on again. This usually works, but typically only lasts for a few minutes, the connection drops again, and then I have to go through the printer power off/on sequence again. Sometimes the printer locks up (power button does not respond) and I have to unplug its power cord before it will reconnect. I recently saw an HP software update listed on my periodic recommended downloads list that if I understood the description correctly was supposed to fix this problem, so I installed it, but it has not worked. The drop still occurs without warning (it's almost like a timeout), and has occurred when the printer was printing a document, as well as when it wasn't. The only major software product I have installed or upgraded recently was going from Windows Explorer v8 to v9, but I did that after the printer connection problem started to surface. As I look at my printer screen this very minute, it's up and running, but 10 minutes from now, will very likely disconnect itself again. Any ideas on what is causing this and what I can do to fix it? Frustrated HP C5550 owner in Bucks Co. PA
