Win 7 keeps losing my hardwired USB printer

[RickinOly]

I have a Win 7 machine, and an HP printer, hardwired to the CPU via USB cable. Works great, then suddenly dies. I can't you how many times I have gone back to the HP website and reinstalled the latest drivers for my printer.

Am I missing something?

 

[flamefire999]

Is the USB cable broken or does it have any fraying?
Is the USB getting shifted when this happens?
Does it stay connected with another computer?
What program are you printing with?