Fax software missing and won't reinstall

[John Lynch]

I run Windows XP with SP1 and many post-SP1 patches.

I used to fax documents regularly from Microsoft Word
2002 SP1 by clicking "Print", selecting "Fax" as the
printer name and following through the Wizard. It
worked fine.

One day it wouldn't work. I uninstalled the fax
services using the Add/Remove Programs feature. I
rebooted, Then I attempted to reinstall it, by reapplying
the tick to "Fax" in the Add/Remove Programs dialog
box. This *seems* to work fine but in fact does not do
anything, and afterwards (even after a reboot) the "Fax"
box remains unticked. I have tried this several times
to no avail.

I looked in the Start Menu under
Accessories>Communications>Fax but the folder is empty
and does not contain a shortcut to the Fax Console.

I clicked Start Menu>Printers and Faxes, selected "Set up
faxing". A box then appeared, "Configuring Components"
with a progress bar, and after 10 or 15 seconds was
finished.

Under "Printer Tasks", the previous link, "Set up faxing"
was replaced by "Install a local fax printer". When I
click this nothing appears to happen, but after
refreshing the window, the link reverts to "Set up
faxing". There is still no "Fax printer" listed, only
my local physical printers.

I have searched the Microsoft Knowledge Base, this
newsgroup and the Web for this problem but can find no
reference to it .

I work as a P.C./ Windows troubleshooter but this one has
stumped me. Can anyone help please?

Regards,
John Lynch

 

[Vibha Rathi [MSFT]]

Try installing fax again by checking the check box in Add/Remove Windows
Components. After the installation completes (fails), see the file
FaxSetUp.log under %windir%. You might find some clue there as to why the
installation failed.
You could also get in touch with Russ Valentine ([email protected]) the
Microsoft. MVP for outlook and send the log file through him to us at
Microsoft, so we may look into your problem further.

--
Vibha Rathi
Microsoft Printing, Imaging & Fax Team

This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights.

Please do not send email directly to this alias. This alias is for newsgroup
purposes only.'

 

[Isildur]

I have the same problem

Hi, running Windows XP SP2 and I'm having the same problem. Anyone figured it out?


I'm not sure if contacting Mr. Valentine as you suggested to the guy above, would help me. In the thread at

http://209.85.165.104/search?q=cach...ex.php/t-285831.html&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=2&gl=us

someone else asked the same problem and he didn't seem familliar with the problem. Additionally, after the original poster said he tried setting up the fax services through [Printer and Faxes>File Menu>Set Up Faxing], Mr. Valentine wrongly corrected him, claiming "Fax is never set up from the path you mentioned. It is set up from Control Panel > Add/Remove > Windows Components."

Umm...

In fact I did so on my laptop tonight, and it worked fine. So that isn't the problem.


My desktop PC on the other hand, stubbornly refuses to successfully install faxing, like the other people with this problem. Whether I try from the above menu or I try from the Add/Remove Programs control panel, the result is the same. It acts like the installation is progressing (progress bar and all), but at the end nothing has changed. Anyone have any ideas?


btw, here's what each failed attempt to install the fax service generated in FaxSetup.log in the windows directory. I'll try comparing it to the log of the successful installation on my laptop. I'll post again if I figure something out.
http://pages.nyu.edu/~jc73/misc/faxlog.txt

 

[Isildur]

problem solved

Hi, it's been a while, but I just thought I'd share with everyone the solution that finally worked, which I eventually found after again searching the web for information. My problem was solved by following David Murphy's instructions in a thread at Google Groups.


Namely,

"1. Click on the Windows Start Menu.
2. Click Run.
3. Type esentutl /p %windir%\security\database\secedit.sdb in the Open
box, and click OK.
4. Install IIS through the Control Panel Add/Remove Windows Components
applet."


and then try again to install the fax services.