Fax XP SP2 : fatal error most of the times

[Dominiek Cottem]

Hi,
To date I didn't receive any solution for the problem.
Last reaction from the MSFT guys was on January 6th but none with a
solution. They asked for supplementary information. All information is
provided but no reaction anymore. See posts.
My advice : wait with SP2 or downgrade to SP1 if you like to use the fax
functionality of WinXP.
Kind regards,
Dominiek

 

[Dominiek Cottem]

I've posted all information the MSFT guys asked for, but still no answer
nor solution.
In spite of the other users having the same problem, it is my impression
that MSFT will not provide a solution.
Do we have to downgrade to SP1 ??
Dominiek

 

[csanders]

Anyone from Microsoft going to answer this one? He's done what you've
asked him to, and the thread goes dead, just like my modem when I'm
trying to send a fax. Hehe, j/k. But seriously, we could really use
some answers here. I would create a new thread, but just about every
post so far on this one is directly relevant to my symptoms.

I'm having the same problem. Tested with mulitple modems that are all
on the HCL list. I'm using VB.NET and the Extended COM Fax library to
programmatically send faxes. I'm faxing in native TIFF format. Most
faxes fail, some make it through, some fail and then make it through on
the retries. I've tried three commas at the end of the phone number to
delay the handshake timout - to no avail. I've tried every variation
of TIFF file imaginable, with no pattern as to the failure. I've tried
PDFs. I've tried bypassing my program and just sending using the Fax
Wizard. On my machine, I can send 50 faxes one day with one or two
problems. I can come back the next day, resend the EXACT SAME tiff
documents, and have 10 of the first 15 randomly fail right in a row.

This isn't an annoyance. This is an extremely serious issue for me and
my company. This problem is affecting our flagship application that
I've spent three months added a faxing system to. We have over 500
client installations of our software, and significant market share.
This faxing thing is a biggie to us. We need some answers on this one
A.S.A.P. I'm also willing to go to ANY lengths to help troubleshoot
and get this resolved.

Microsoft, please resuscitate this thread.

 

[Russ Valentine [MVP-Outlook]]

You seem to misunderstand how peer to peer groups work. Microsoft does not
provide support here.
You post seems to have nothing in common with the rest of this thread.
Provide the evidence that it does.

 

[csanders]

Russ, first let me say, before my initial post here, I came across
several of your responses trying to help people out w/ similar
problems, and your attention and comments have been useful and
appreciated.

Don't mistake my direct appeal to Microsoft as ignorance as to how
newsgroups work. Of course Microsoft has no direct responsibility to
help in these groups. But two individuals from the MS fax team joined
the thread, asked for details, and then didn't respond. So before I
open a direct help ticket with Microsoft, which I'm sure I'll be doing
in the next day or two, I was trying to help all those on the thread by
asking the fax team (probably the only people who can really help here)
to come back and share what they found, if anything. I don't think
that's an unreasonable request. It may be unreasonable to depend on
getting a response, but it's not unreasonable to ask. I'm trying to
solve a problem, and I will use every avenue available to do so. My
post to this group was an attempt to help others in the same boat.

As far as "providing evidence" that my post is related, I suggest you
read the entire thread, then read my post. As I indicated, my problem
is identical to the problem described in the initial post. It is also
mirrors three others who joined the thread before me.

Again, I am willing to come back with anything that will assist anyone
in offering any insight here.

Chet

You seem to misunderstand how peer to peer groups work. Microsoft does not
provide support here.
You post seems to have nothing in common with the rest of this thread.
Provide the evidence that it does.
--
Russ Valentine
[MVP-Outlook]
message news:[email protected]...

Anyone from Microsoft going to answer this one? He's done what you've
asked him to, and the thread goes dead, just like my modem when I'm
trying to send a fax. Hehe, j/k. But seriously, we could really use
some answers here. I would create a new thread, but just about every
post so far on this one is directly relevant to my symptoms.

I'm having the same problem. Tested with mulitple modems that are all
on the HCL list. I'm using VB.NET and the Extended COM Fax library to
programmatically send faxes. I'm faxing in native TIFF format. Most
faxes fail, some make it through, some fail and then make it through on
the retries. I've tried three commas at the end of the phone number to
delay the handshake timout - to no avail. I've tried every variation
of TIFF file imaginable, with no pattern as to the failure. I've tried
PDFs. I've tried bypassing my program and just sending using the Fax
Wizard. On my machine, I can send 50 faxes one day with one or two
problems. I can come back the next day, resend the EXACT SAME tiff
documents, and have 10 of the first 15 randomly fail right in a row.

This isn't an annoyance. This is an extremely serious issue for me and
my company. This problem is affecting our flagship application that
I've spent three months added a faxing system to. We have over 500
client installations of our software, and significant market share.
This faxing thing is a biggie to us. We need some answers on this one
A.S.A.P. I'm also willing to go to ANY lengths to help troubleshoot
and get this resolved.

Microsoft, please resuscitate this thread.

 

[Russ Valentine [MVP-Outlook]]

I don't have the rest of this thread anymore. But the problems we've been
trying to track down in these "SP2 threads" are those created by the
installation of SP2. I didn't seem to find that mentioned in your
description, so that's why I thought it might not be related. I'm sure it is
related to many other threads I've seen, however, and may have been related
to the initial post. More recent posts in this thread concerned the SP2
problem.

Your problems seem to be more related to problems that have existed with
Windows XP Home/Professional Fax (the topic of this newsgroup) from the
outset: it is a notoriously unreliable program with a transmission failure
rate that is both inexplicable and unacceptable. As you have already
discovered, these failures seem to be "random acts of violence." There are
no consistent steps to repro and thus no way to troubleshoot or investigate
them other than to start very laborious procedures to log individual
transmissions that require more time and effort from end users than they are
able to provide. So this elephant just sits there in the room while everyone
tries to ignore it.
--
Russ Valentine
[MVP-Outlook]

Russ, first let me say, before my initial post here, I came across
several of your responses trying to help people out w/ similar
problems, and your attention and comments have been useful and
appreciated.

Don't mistake my direct appeal to Microsoft as ignorance as to how
newsgroups work. Of course Microsoft has no direct responsibility to
help in these groups. But two individuals from the MS fax team joined
the thread, asked for details, and then didn't respond. So before I
open a direct help ticket with Microsoft, which I'm sure I'll be doing
in the next day or two, I was trying to help all those on the thread by
asking the fax team (probably the only people who can really help here)
to come back and share what they found, if anything. I don't think
that's an unreasonable request. It may be unreasonable to depend on
getting a response, but it's not unreasonable to ask. I'm trying to
solve a problem, and I will use every avenue available to do so. My
post to this group was an attempt to help others in the same boat.

As far as "providing evidence" that my post is related, I suggest you
read the entire thread, then read my post. As I indicated, my problem
is identical to the problem described in the initial post. It is also
mirrors three others who joined the thread before me.

Again, I am willing to come back with anything that will assist anyone
in offering any insight here.

Chet

You seem to misunderstand how peer to peer groups work. Microsoft does not
provide support here.
You post seems to have nothing in common with the rest of this thread.
Provide the evidence that it does.
--
Russ Valentine
[MVP-Outlook]
message news:[email protected]...

Anyone from Microsoft going to answer this one? He's done what you've
asked him to, and the thread goes dead, just like my modem when I'm
trying to send a fax. Hehe, j/k. But seriously, we could really use
some answers here. I would create a new thread, but just about every
post so far on this one is directly relevant to my symptoms.

I'm having the same problem. Tested with mulitple modems that are all
on the HCL list. I'm using VB.NET and the Extended COM Fax library to
programmatically send faxes. I'm faxing in native TIFF format. Most
faxes fail, some make it through, some fail and then make it through on
the retries. I've tried three commas at the end of the phone number to
delay the handshake timout - to no avail. I've tried every variation
of TIFF file imaginable, with no pattern as to the failure. I've tried
PDFs. I've tried bypassing my program and just sending using the Fax
Wizard. On my machine, I can send 50 faxes one day with one or two
problems. I can come back the next day, resend the EXACT SAME tiff
documents, and have 10 of the first 15 randomly fail right in a row.

This isn't an annoyance. This is an extremely serious issue for me and
my company. This problem is affecting our flagship application that
I've spent three months added a faxing system to. We have over 500
client installations of our software, and significant market share.
This faxing thing is a biggie to us. We need some answers on this one
A.S.A.P. I'm also willing to go to ANY lengths to help troubleshoot
and get this resolved.

Microsoft, please resuscitate this thread.

 

[Dominiek Cottem]

For all people with these fax errors starting after the SP2 upgrade,
maybe I have some good news.

Recently I've downloaded a demo version of "Advanced System Optimizer"
from “Systweak”. From that package I used the "Registry Cleaner" and
the “Registry Defrager” to optimize my registry. From then on I didn't
have any fax failure anymore !!

To date I only did a few tests, but all the faxes were send
successfully. For these tests I've used the same documents and the same
fax numbers that failed before.

So maybe you can give it a try, this demo download is for free.
If others can confirm this as a “solution”, for me it is clear that
while updating to SP2 the registry gets “corrupted” in some way. But in
fact it is too early to make this conclusion.
And if it is indeed a solution, then the guys of “Systweak” has done a
wonderful job and it is worth of purchasing the product.

Kind regards,

Dominiek

 

[Russ Valentine [MVP-Outlook]]

Did this program provide you with any information as to the changes it made
in your registry? Any log files?

 

[hgillis]

Fax fatal error

To restart the service:
right click the (MyComputer Icon) and choose Manage.
Expand the tree to get to Services and Applications then expand Services and Applications to get to FAX.
Right click on fax to stop the service then right click again to start the service