Fax Comparison

F

ForestSpirit

Which is better?

XP Pro Fax Console
- built into WinXP Pro
BVRP Classic PhoneTools 6
- http://www.bvrp.com
Symantec WinFax Pro 10.03
- http://www.symantec.com

PhoneTools can can send faxes directly from any Windows application through
the Print command. You select File - Print, and then choose the BVRP Fax
Printer. You can send plain text, graphics, PDFs, whatever. It can also
answer your phone and take voice messages or fax messages. Does the Fax
Console in XP do the same thing, or does PhoneTools have more features?

Any known XP issues if I choose to buy Classic PhoneTools? It is on sale
right now (25% off during the next 48 hours) through a special promotion in
an email they sent to me. I had an OEM version of PhoneTools a few years ago
and loved the program and its ease of use. It is very user friendly and not
too many settings to worry about. There is also PhoneTools Expert, but that
is much more expensive, has many advanced features, and is more complicated
that I would need.

I am using XP Pro SP2 with a PCTel V.92 56k Fax Modem. This modem is only
used for sending faxes or as a back up dial-up connection to the Internet
when my LAN is down. Primary modem is a DSL modem/router. I know that the
following PCTel files cause issues for some people, but not all. I have the
second file but not the first.
- pctvoice.exe
- pctspk.exe.

Both files are mentioned by the Ultimate Troubleshooter Tasklist as possibly
troublesome. They can "occasionally run away with CPU consumption, up to
95%-100%, causing the inevitable extreme PC slow-down or freeze. In all
cases that we have seen, disabling this process with the Ultimate
Troubleshooter has not given the user any problems in his use of the modem."
http://www.answersthatwork.com/Tasklist_pages/tasklist_p.htm

It is not easy to disable pctspk.exe. If you disable it from starting up in
MSCONFIG or rename the file, it just keeps coming back. Maybe something to
do with prefetch (some protected system file thingie).

There is also WinFax Pro by Symantec, but I do not know how that compares.
It may have more features than I need and be much more complicated. Symantec
stuff, like SystemWorks, integrates very deeply into the OS and can cause
numerous problems, but I don't know about WinFax. Never tried it. Any advice
appreciated.
 
C

Carey Frisch [MVP]

We may wish to repost your inquiry in the Fax newsgroup:
news://msnews.microsoft.com/microsoft.public.windows.print_fax

--
Carey Frisch
Microsoft MVP
Windows XP - Shell/User
Microsoft Newsgroups

Get Windows XP Service Pack 2 with Advanced Security Technologies:
http://www.microsoft.com/athome/security/protect/windowsxp/choose.mspx

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

:

| Which is better?
|
| XP Pro Fax Console
| - built into WinXP Pro
| BVRP Classic PhoneTools 6
| - http://www.bvrp.com
| Symantec WinFax Pro 10.03
| - http://www.symantec.com
|
| PhoneTools can can send faxes directly from any Windows application through
| the Print command. You select File - Print, and then choose the BVRP Fax
| Printer. You can send plain text, graphics, PDFs, whatever. It can also
| answer your phone and take voice messages or fax messages. Does the Fax
| Console in XP do the same thing, or does PhoneTools have more features?
|
| Any known XP issues if I choose to buy Classic PhoneTools? It is on sale
| right now (25% off during the next 48 hours) through a special promotion in
| an email they sent to me. I had an OEM version of PhoneTools a few years ago
| and loved the program and its ease of use. It is very user friendly and not
| too many settings to worry about. There is also PhoneTools Expert, but that
| is much more expensive, has many advanced features, and is more complicated
| that I would need.
|
| I am using XP Pro SP2 with a PCTel V.92 56k Fax Modem. This modem is only
| used for sending faxes or as a back up dial-up connection to the Internet
| when my LAN is down. Primary modem is a DSL modem/router. I know that the
| following PCTel files cause issues for some people, but not all. I have the
| second file but not the first.
| - pctvoice.exe
| - pctspk.exe.
|
| Both files are mentioned by the Ultimate Troubleshooter Tasklist as possibly
| troublesome. They can "occasionally run away with CPU consumption, up to
| 95%-100%, causing the inevitable extreme PC slow-down or freeze. In all
| cases that we have seen, disabling this process with the Ultimate
| Troubleshooter has not given the user any problems in his use of the modem."
| http://www.answersthatwork.com/Tasklist_pages/tasklist_p.htm
|
| It is not easy to disable pctspk.exe. If you disable it from starting up in
| MSCONFIG or rename the file, it just keeps coming back. Maybe something to
| do with prefetch (some protected system file thingie).
|
| There is also WinFax Pro by Symantec, but I do not know how that compares.
| It may have more features than I need and be much more complicated. Symantec
| stuff, like SystemWorks, integrates very deeply into the OS and can cause
| numerous problems, but I don't know about WinFax. Never tried it. Any advice
| appreciated.
 
P

Plato

ForestSpirit said:
Any known XP issues if I choose to buy Classic PhoneTools? It is on sale
right now (25% off during the next 48 hours) through a special promotion in
an email they sent to me. I had an OEM version of PhoneTools a few years ago

A vendor who spams you might want to think twice. Especially with the
"get it now" routine.
 

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