Why does a jumble of characters and words sometimes print instead of the document I want? -

I have a Dell computer running XP and a Dell Color Laser Printer (3000cn). Sometimes It prints the first page or two of a document then says USB Data Wait, then starts printing a jumbled mix of the document and weird characters (%$#). Any ideas?

Sounds to me like the cable might be subject to some electro magnetic interference. Either that or the cable is just going bad. I would try a new cable, or isolate the cable away from things that could be causing interference such as power cables other cables. If that does not help, uninstall and reinstall the drivers.