It would be a good idea to tell us about your printer and how it is
connected. Has it ever worked? What make and model? Is it a shared printer
using Samba or ipp? Is it local via usb? etc.

The more info that you can provide the easier it is to identify the problem
and possible solutions. As it is we are shooting in the dark.

I think I got it figured out.
System > Admin > Printing > Laser_Jet_4050 > Installable Options
total memory was set to 2mb - which is not even the printer default. I
changed it to 36mb or more to see if that helps.

The printer is plugged into my router, static ip, yes it works.

I have to print a page later today so Ill post back after that to see if
it prints better after the above change.

This is confusing to me. how are you defining first and second boot? To
reset to boot one, do you mean you have previously booted w/o the printer
connected? And THEN you have to boot twice to get it to work? If that is
correct, was the printer connected via usb throughout the entire first boot,
or plugged in after boot? What if you log out and then back in, does that
accomplish the same thing?

I have a HP LaserJet 4050.
It has 72mb of ram in it.
When I print it can take up to a minute or more before it starts to
print. And some pages that I need to print wont print because they are
too large (???).

Im not entirely sure what I should be looking for here.

My wife prints from her ThinkPad with XP and it prints just fine - well,
still a bit slow overall.