I am a newbie to linux and am not good with writing code. I have had the Ubuntu loaded for about a month and have managed to work through several issues, my latest is with printing. Have a HP Photosmart C6280 printer that is sometimes available and sometimes not. Currently in the printer status box it states "Printer 'Photosmart_C6280' may not be connected." I have printed off the printer before so I know that it is possible. The printer is connected via Ethernet and in the Network - File Browser box it does not show up currently but did when I was able to print. I can see the other computers that are hooked up via the Ethernet so I know that it works.

The easiest way to determine if another system (or printer) is available on your network is to ping it. You will need to use the command line to run this command. Here's an example:

You should also be able to look at your router to see if it sees the printer as a client.

Last important note... make sure that your printer is not setup on a DHCP setting; it should have a fixed IP address. Otherwise everytime you shut the printer down or turn off your router, the printer may acquire a different IP address on startup. This IP address may differ from what you have setup in CUPS on your Linux system.