Computer restarts on print command

[mtmoore]

I have a Dell inspiron 530 with 2gb of ram, 2.53ghz intel core duo. I have two USB printers connected. An HP C3180 inkjet and a Samsung ML-2510 laser. I have had the Samsung for about 3 years and the HP for 2. Up until last week everything has been working just fine. Last week I printed a file and as soon as the printer started the computer rebooted. In the last two days this has been happening more frequently. Now it is almost 100% of the print jobs start a reboot.

Here's what I have checked so far.

I have tried other USB ports, updated the print drivers, updated the system, and done a complete scan for viruses using webroot antivirus with spysweeper. Just for laughs I tried shutting down the printer. As soon as I turned the power back on the computer rebooted. I have tried installing a powered USB hub so that the printer would not draw power from the computer. I printed a dozen documents from several programs and the web just fine, then it rebooted again. (the powered USB hub is an old one. It is not USB 2.0.) The device manager says the printer is working fine. I did a system reset to the earliest date available, which was two weeks ago, no help.

Oh, and no new software. Just the regular updates such as HP printer updates, adobe, Microsoft system, virus definitions and software updates.

I can print to the HP inkjet printer with no problem.

Any ideas?????????

Thanks Mark

[techsheaven]

I would uninstall the samsung drivers and install the one that came with the disk(old one!) Then I would disable any software that updates the drivers automatically.

another thing I can think of is connecting it through a powered USB hub (it may be drawing more amps over time).

A third idea is to look in the device manager, view hidden devices, and see if there is a conflicting (malware?) driver.

Keep us posted as this may take some thinking...

Good Luck

[mtmoore]

I did uninstall the printer and drivers and reinstalled from the original disk. And I tried a powered USB hub, no help.

Then I realized that there has been a clicking every time I print. It turns out the UPS was kicking in every time I printed and now the battery in the UPS is dead. I have a new on on order.

But the real problem is that the UPS was kicking in at all! There was too many outlets on that circuit in the house. So when the laser printer started the current draw caused the UPS to kick in.

I have rewired that portion of the house so that outlet is on it's own breaker. In doing so I found the original wiring was faulty and the hot line had been damaged. There was very little copper left to carry the load.

So the problem was two fold. Bad wiring, and too many outlets on one breaker.

The computer is, and was just fine!

Thanks for the tips, but this problem had nothing to do with the computer system.

[techsheaven]

Glad you found the proble. Don't forget to mark the problem as solved.