Why do I wait more than 1 minute to connect to a network printer?

A

An-A-La

I have 3 new computers running on XP pro and 1 old computer runnig on Windows
'98. They are all on the same network. 2 of the new computers use the old
computer as a print server to print to a Brother MFC-8840, which is the
default printer. When I first try to print from word on either of the new
connected to the old I get a message in the lower left hand corner stating:
Connecting to Printer. Press Esc to Cancle. Most of the time it takes too
long for me to wait so I cancel it. Then word usually crashes. Is there
anyway I stop word from freezing up when I try to print or do a print
preview? Word is the only program I have this problem with. Also I get a
Not responding message in the top left hand corner when this occurs.
 
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