Thank you for your timely reply.
This solution addresses an NETWORK printer. My printer is usb connected directly to my computer.
Also, this happens with two printers I have...an HP and a Canon, so it is not a printer problem.
Is there any way to check the status of, diagnose or test the usb ports. All are listed as perfectly functioning in the Device Manager. And yet, I constantly see the printer has been switched to OFFLINE. This happens constantly, but not every time. If I connect the printer to a usb port on the front of the computer, it operates, but this is an unusable solution for long term. Why are the usb ports fluctuating?
I ask respectfully, but do you think I don't know how to update drivers? What about when the device with the warning sign has no driver listed? (SM CONTROLLER) How about identifying the chipset in my computer when there is a list of 4 drivers in the download section...which do I use?
The component tab under my service tag number is a totally abbreviated, incomprehensible, and incomplete list that has no links to information or drivers. This has been this way for 12+ years that I have owned a Dell computer. On the linked page http://dell.to/12tl5SP, the Top Solutions have nothing to do with my problem. no diagnostics explain why my printer is just suddenly disconnected from the usb port it is attached to, when it was working earlier. This happens with two printers...a Canon and an HP, so it is not a printer problem.
D
