Deskjet 6980 loses wireless network connectivity after lengthy shutdown

[racepug]

I just obtained a DeskJet 6980 printer that I set up to work on my home wireless network. Everything was working fine until I turned the printer off overnight. After turning the printer back on I discovered that the printer was no longer connected to the network. I was able to reconnect it, but only by logging into my desktop PC as an "administrator" and going through the wireless network setup off of the provided CD, again. To test everything I again turned the printer off, this time for about 20 minutes, and now my printer is again unable to be accessed through the wireless network I have set up at home. The blue wireless radio light on the front of the printer comes on after I turn the printer back on and is solid; the green network light, however, blinks incessantly. Based on what I've been able to gather it looks like the printer isn't reacquiring its I.P. address after being off for a lengthy period of time. So I have two questions: 1) Is there a way for me to be able to KEEP the printer from losing connectivity with my wireless network after a shutdown (you may say: "Well, just don't turn your printer off, then!" Easy answer, but we've been having power outages lately and there's no telling when we'll have another one), and if the answer to that question is "No," then 2) what's the easiest way to get the printer back online within my home wireless network setup again after a lengthy shutdown? My desktop PC is running Windows XP Professional Service Pack 3, the laptop I try to print to this printer from is running Windows Vista (though once I got the printer back online the first time I didn't have any problems printing to it from the laptop), and the wireless router I'm using is a Linksys WRT54G2 v. 1.0.01. As I stated, above, my initial attempts at getting the printer online through my wireless network went fine - it's after a lengthy (more than a minute or two, I think) printer shutdown that I'm having the problem I described above.

[Wi-Fi-Guy]

I agree that it appears your printer is not getting a IP address from the wireless-router.  To help you, I'll need some information about your wireless-network:

1) What is the name of your wireless network?  This is also known as the SSID.  Are you hiding the SSID by turning off broadcasting?

2) Do you have encryption on your wireless network?  If so, what type?  (WEP, WPA-PSK, WPA2-PSK).

4) Do you have MAC filtering enabled on your wireless-router?

5) If you power cycle the printer, does it reattached to the wireless network?

6) If you power cycle the wireless-router, will the printer connect to the wireless-network?

7) Do any of the other wireless devices on your network have trouble getting an IP address after being turned off for an extended period?  I read in your post that you have a laptop and a desktop on your network.  Are both devices connected wirelessly or wired to your network?  Does you laptop have any trouble connecting to the wireless network?

Best Regards / Jim B