printer problems

[Robert Holtzman]

As of today my old workhorse Canon BJ210 stopped printing with an error 
message "BJ210 Printer 'BJ210' may not be connected". It doesn't appear 
to be OS related as it happens in Ubuntu and Debian. Contradicting that 
assumption is the fact that when I try to delete the attempted print 
jobs from the lineup I get an error message "There was an error during 
the CUPS operation: 'client-error-not-possible'". This only happens in 
Ubuntu and not Debian. Deleting and reinstalling the printer eliminated 
this problem but didn't restore operation.

Another oddity is that when I reboot the error message about the 
printer not being connected appears. This despite the printer being 
turned off prior to the reboot.

In case anyone wonders, the printer powers up, the physical connections
are tight, and the requisite noises are heard when turning the power on 
or off.

Hopefully the printer isn't toast as this isn't a good time for me to 
have to buy a new one.

-- 
Bob Holtzman
"If you think you're getting free lunch,
  check the price of the beer"