I am running W2K Prof. on a Dell Dimension 4400. Several months ago (no new software or anything else installed), I started to get a problem in that everytime I went online, I would then 'lose' my printer. I will get an error that basically says it cannot see my printer. I have to reboot 3 times, and then I can print again. (Sounds like going on line is confusing my printer port). I thought perhaps I had some alien garbage or virus, so I ran McAfee. No viruses.... Still the problem. There are no IRQ conflicts. Printer is on LPT1 and irq7, internal modem on com1. So then I decided to re-FDisk C: (which I had previously partitioned into C:, D:, E: and F. I repartitioned using MS W2K installation software and created only 2 partitions..C: and D:.

Well,
1st, the problem still exists.
2nd, and most troubling is that when I reinstalled Oracle 9i from a CD, it wanted to default install it to E: where it had last been installed before the fdisk! (E: of course no longer existed.) I of course was able to select D: to install it on this time, but the trouble here is….. Since I FDISKed, I assumed I wiped all info (especially the printer error problem). So how did a CD that was not writeable remember where to install to, on a newly fdisked and repartitioned and reformated hard drive? I think that is really the root of the printing problem which still exists. Do I need to zap the P-ram? (If so, I forgot how.)

I have contacted Epson and my ISP and no one can figure this out. Dell is useless since computer is 2-1/2 years old. I have heard of Partition Magic, but don't really want to purchase it if the real problem is something else. And of course why did the CPU remember my old install?

Thanks to whoever can figure this out.
Shilo