How to Install and Use Microsoft Fax

Last reviewed: February 10, 1998
Article ID: Q152196
The information in this article applies to:
  • Microsoft Windows 95

SUMMARY

This article describes how to install and use Microsoft Fax. The following topics are discussed:

  • Installing Microsoft Fax
  • Sending and receiving faxes
  • Sending faxes using a calling card
  • Troubleshooting Microsoft Fax

MORE INFORMATION

Installing Microsoft Fax

To use Microsoft Fax, you must add the Microsoft Fax information service to a Microsoft Exchange profile. Before you can add the Microsoft Fax information service to a Microsoft Exchange profile, the Microsoft Exchange and Microsoft Fax components and a fax modem must already be installed in Windows 95.

If the Microsoft Exchange and Microsoft Fax components are not already installed in Windows 95, follow these steps to install them:

  1. In Control Panel, double-click Add/Remove Programs.

  2. Click the Windows Setup tab, click the Microsoft Exchange and Microsoft Fax check boxes to select them, and then click OK.

  3. Proceed through the Inbox Setup Wizard, click Finish, and then click Yes to restart your computer if you are prompted to do so.

    NOTE: If you have not already installed a modem in Windows 95, the Inbox Setup Wizard automatically starts the Install New Modem Wizard. To install a modem, verify that the "Don't detect my modem; I will select it from a list" check box is not selected, click Next, proceed through the Install New Modem Wizard, and then click Finish.

Adding Microsoft Fax to a Microsoft Exchange Profile

If the Microsoft Exchange and Microsoft Fax components and a fax modem have already been installed in Windows 95, you can add the Microsoft Fax information service to the Microsoft Exchange profile you want to use to send faxes by following the steps in the appropriate section below:

Adding Microsoft Fax to an Existing Microsoft Exchange Profile:

  1. Quit Microsoft Exchange if it is running.

  2. In Control Panel, double-click Mail And Fax.

  3. If the profile you want to use to send faxes is not the default profile, click Show Profiles, click the profile you want to use to send faxes, and then click Properties. If the profile you want to use to send faxes is the default profile, skip to step 4.

  4. On the Services tab, click Add, click Microsoft Fax in the list of available information services, click OK, and then click Yes in the dialog box that appears.

  5. Click the User tab, type your name in the Your Full Name box, and then type your area code and fax number in the Fax Number boxes.

  6. Click the Modem tab, click the modem you want to use to send faxes in the list of available fax modems, and then click OK.

Adding Microsoft Fax to a New Microsoft Exchange Profile:

  1. Quit Microsoft Exchange if it is running.

  2. In Control Panel, double-click Mail And Fax.

  3. Click Show Profiles, and then click Add to start the Inbox Setup Wizard.

  4. Follow the instructions on the screen to add Microsoft Fax.

Sending and Receiving Faxes

After installing Microsoft Fax, you can send faxes using the Compose New Fax Wizard from Microsoft Exchange, or another program. To send a fax using the Compose New Fax Wizard, follow these steps:

  1. Click the Start button, point to Programs, point to Accessories, point to Fax, and then click Compose New Fax.

  2. Proceed through the Compose New Fax Wizard, and then click Finish.

To send a fax from Microsoft Exchange, follow these steps:

  1. In Microsoft Exchange, click the Compose menu, and then click New Fax.

  2. Proceed through the Compose New Fax Wizard, and then click Finish.

To send a fax from a program whose File menu contains a Send command, follow these steps:

  1. Create or open the document you want to send in the program that you want to use to send the fax.

  2. On the File menu, click Send.

  3. On the Tools menu, click Fax Addressing Wizard.

  4. Proceed through the Fax Addressing Wizard, and then click Finish.

  5. Type a subject for the fax, and then type any message text that you want to include.

  6. On the File menu, click Send.

To send a fax from a program whose File menu does not contain a Send command, follow these steps:

  1. Create or open the document you want to send in the program that you want to use to send the fax.

  2. On the File menu, click Print.

  3. Choose Microsoft Fax from the list of printers, and then click OK.

To receive a fax, click the fax machine icon on the taskbar, and then click Answer Now in the Microsoft Fax Status dialog box.

Sending Faxes Using a Calling Card

To configure Microsoft Fax to use a calling card, follow these steps:

  1. Quit Microsoft Exchange if it is running.

  2. In Control Panel, double-click Mail And Fax.

  3. Click Microsoft Fax in the list of information services, and then click Properties.

  4. Click the Dialing tab, click Dialing Properties, and then click the Dial Using Calling Card check box to select it.

  5. Click the type of calling card you want to use in the Calling Card To Use box, type your calling card number in the Calling Card Number box, and then click OK.

Troubleshooting Microsoft Fax

Troubleshooting Sending Faxes:

If you are unable to send faxes using Microsoft Fax, use the following steps to troubleshoot the problem. After performing each step, check to see if the issue has been resolved.

  1. If you normally use the Compose New Fax wizard to send a fax, try sending the fax using one-off addressing instead. To do so, create a new message in Microsoft Exchange and use the following address syntax on the To line:

          [fax:username@9999999]
    

    To create a new message in Microsoft Exchange, double-click the Inbox icon on the desktop to start Microsoft Exchange, and then click New Message on the Compose menu.

  2. Verify that the Outbox is empty. If the Outbox is not empty, empty it by deleting any messages it contains, or by moving the messages to a different folder.

    If you are unable to delete or move messages in the Outbox, delete the messages manually by deleting all files in the Windows\Spool\Fax folder.

  3. Create a new Microsoft Exchange profile that contains only the Microsoft Fax information service. To do so, follow these steps:

    NOTE: These steps should be performed even if the Microsoft Exchange profile that you currently use to send faxes contains only the Microsoft Fax information service.

    a. In Control Panel, double-click Mail And Fax.

    b. Click Show Profiles, and then click Add. Verify that the Microsoft

          Fax check box is selected, click any other information service check
          boxes that are listed to clear them, and then click Next.
    

    c. Proceed through the remainder of the Inbox Setup Wizard, and then

          click Finish.
    

    If you have more than one Microsoft Exchange profile, you can configure Microsoft Exchange to prompt you for the profile to use each time you start it. To do so, follow these steps:

    a. In Microsoft Exchange, click Options on the Tools menu, and then

          click the General tab.
    

    b. In the When Starting Microsoft Exchange area, click "Prompt for a

          profile to be used," and then click OK.
    

    c. On the File menu, click Exit And Log Off.

    d. Restart Microsoft Exchange.

  4. Remove and reinstall Microsoft Exchange and Microsoft Fax. To do so, follow these steps:

    a. Quit Microsoft Exchange if it is running.

    b. In Control Panel, double-click Add/Remove Programs.

    c. Click the Windows Setup tab, and then click the Microsoft Exchange

          check box to clear it. When you are prompted to remove Microsoft Fax
          or any other components that require Microsoft Exchange, do so.
    

    d. Click OK.

    e. When you are prompted to restart your computer, click Yes.

    f. In Control Panel, double-click Add/Remove Programs.

    g. Click the Windows Setup tab, and then click the Microsoft Exchange

          and Microsoft Fax check boxes to select them. If you also removed
          other components, click the check boxes for those components to
          select them also.
    

    h. Click OK and then proceed through the Inbox Setup Wizard to create a

          Microsoft Exchange profile that contains only the Microsoft Fax
          information service.
    

Troubleshooting Receiving Faxes:

If you are unable to receive faxes using Microsoft Fax, use the following steps to troubleshoot the problem. After performing each step, check to see if the issue has been resolved.

  1. Disable high-speed transmission and error correction mode. To do so, follow these steps:

    a. In Control Panel, double-click Mail And Fax.

    b. Click Microsoft Fax in the list of information services, and then

          click Properties.
    

    c. Click the Modem tab, click the fax modem that you use to receive

          faxes, and then click Properties.
    

    d. Click Advanced, click the Disable High Speed Transmission and

          Disable Error Correction Mode check boxes to select them, and then
          click OK.
    

  2. Reduce the size of the transmit and receive buffers. To do so, follow these steps:

    a. In Control Panel, double-click Modems.

    b. Click the fax modem that you use to receive faxes, and then click

          Properties.
    

    c. Click the Connection tab, and then click Port Settings.

    d. Move the Receive Buffer and Transmit Buffer sliders one setting to

          the left (toward the Low setting), and then click OK.
    

    If the problem persists, repeat steps A-D and move the Receive Buffer and Transmit Buffer sliders one more setting to the left. Repeat this process until the Receive Buffer and Transmit Buffer sliders are all the way to the left or the problem no longer occurs.

  3. Disable the Reject Pages Received With Errors option in Microsoft Fax. To do so, follow these steps:

    a. In Control Panel, double-click Mail And Fax.

    b. Click Microsoft Fax in the list of information services, and then

          click Properties.
    

    c. Click the Modem tab, click the fax modem that you use to receive

          faxes, and then click Properties.
    

    d. Click Advanced, click the Reject Pages Received With Errors check

          box to clear it, and then click OK.
    

If these steps do not correct the problem, contact the manufacturer of the modem to inquire whether an updated modem setup information (.inf) file is available.

NOTE: If the problem persists after performing the above steps, the problem may be caused by line noise. To determine if this is the case, contact your local telephone company and request that they check your telephone line for line noise.

REFERENCES

For information about using the network fax service to configure a network fax server or a network fax client, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

   ARTICLE-ID: Q141292
   TITLE     : How to Set Up a Fax Server or Fax Client with Microsoft Fax

For information about sending a fax using Microsoft Fax configured to use the "Wait for calling card prompt (bong)" or "$" dialing rule, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

   ARTICLE-ID: Q138897
   TITLE     : MS Fax Does Not Recognize the "$" Calling Card Dialing Rule

For information about the FIFO settings for a 16550 UART chip and how to change them, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

   ARTICLE-ID: Q131016
   TITLE     : Settings for the 16550 UART FIFO Buffer


KBCategory: kbtool kbhowto
KBSubcategory: win95 awfax w95exchange
Additional query words: 95 msfax
Keywords : awfax w95exchange win95 kbtool kbualink97 kbfaq
Version : 95
Platform : WINDOWS
Issue type : kbhowto


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Last reviewed: February 10, 1998
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