default printer won't stay set and finding a printer on network

I have several problems with my MS Windows XP Pro system.

1. My desktop computer has a wired connection to my router. A Laserjet is
wired to the desktop. An Officejet is wired to the router. I want the
default printer to be the Laserjet. Since the last upgrade of the software
for the Officejet, the default printer becomes mysteriously set to the
Officejet. The Officejet instructions say to set the default printer via
the Printers and Faxes dialog, so Officejet doesn't appear to have any way
for a user to use Officejet software to override the Windows setting. How
can I set the Laserjet to be my default printer and have it stay that way?

2. My home network also has a laptop (XP Pro) that uses a wireless
connection for a Workgroup. The desktop is given a fixed IP address, The
desktop is in the /etc/hosts file of the laptop, and the laptop is able to
see the desktop and its printer. Somehow, the desktop was changed back to
DHCP (by one of the software updates?) recently, so the laptop didn't
communicate with it. The laptop also couldn't print on the Laserjet
because it didn't see the desktop. When I discovered that the laptop
couldn't print via the desktop, I attempted to delete the print jobs. They
wouldn't delete. In frustration, I deleted the desktop's printer from the
laptop. Now Printers and Faxes on the laptop shows no printers but says
that there are print jobs waiting. Thus, it appears that I have an active
print queue for a nonexistent printer. I have restored the fixed IP
address for the desktop, and the laptop and desktop communicate with no
problem. Unfortunately, although the laptop can once again see shared
files on the desktop, it can't find the printer on the desktop. The
printer is shown as shared on the desktop, and the network setup dialog
shows that print sharing is enabled. How can I purge the print queue on
the laptop? What should I do to have the laptop use the desktop's printer?

Thanks.