installation of Dell c1660W color laser printer - would not print after initial sucessful installation.

I received my Dell C1660W color laser printer last Thursday.  The "Setting up your printer" instructions could have contained a bit more detail - like instead of simply saying - "Insert CD. Run Setup application."  It could have told you that the setup application was "Run setup_assist.exe" - NOT setup.exe.  Anyway, after correcting that error, the setup was pretty smooth, and everything was working fine.  The instructions in the manual also - in large letters - said not to connect the printer to a power strip.  I didn't understand why, but followed the directions. 

My computer is a Dell Vostro, using a Windows Vista Business OS.  The next day, I tried to print a page - and nothing happened.  The printer said that it was on and "ready", and had a document to print, but it wouldn't print.  The "toolbox"  would not display any information claiming that "Information was not acquired because the Status Monitor was running."  I spent the next three hours blindly following the "Trouble Shoot" directions in the printer's manual, turning the printer on and off, looking for ports, printer drivers, attempting to close down the Status Monitor, making sure the wireless was enabled, checking paper size, etc.  I was about to uninstall and reinstall, and decided to have a cigarette break.  I then thought about it, and it hit me that the printer was not plugged into my power strip with my other peripherals (which has surge protection), and that I had switched the printer "On" AFTER I had booted up the computer.  I went back, left the printer on, rebooted, and everything worked perfectly. 

I am just a legal secretary, with some computer knowledge acquired over the years by just working with computers.  I can see no reason for not having the printer plugged into the power strip, which automatically shuts down all my peripherals when the computer is shut down (and turns them on again when the computer is booting up.)  I wasted three hours yesterday, by following directions which did not not include this really simple "fix."  I attempted to vent my frustration with an email to Dell "support" and found that I could not do this for this printer.  Thus this post.