[jstevemd]

I have WinFax Pro 10.03 installed on 3 Windows 2000 computers. 2 Computers with Client setup and 1 host. Everything works fine EXCEPT in the WinFax PRO Receive window, if you click on “Show all messages”, the program crashes. Strange, because when a new message comes in, the Receive window pops up and you can see and/or download the fax to the client machine. If you click the “Show all messages” button, the following error message pops up: “The instructin at “0x6c3b7bc4” referenced memory at “0x3438312b”. The memory could not be “read”. Click on OK to terminate the program, or Cancel to debug the program.” WinFax Pro can not be restarted unless the computer is rebooted. I can replicate the same error on both client machines. Thanks for your time and help in this issue.

[Administrator]

What version of WinFax PRO is the Host using? and what about the 2 client computers? Check Help, About… to get the full version and subversion #

It’s posible there is one or more bad/corrupt fax entries located on the Host PC receive log, so when you click “Show All Messages” on each of the client PCs, you get the same crash. I’d suggest to confirm some of the fax entries in the Host’s receive log. Do they all appear to be OK? Can you view each of them?

[jstevemd]

All are running version 10.03. I deleted all the bad faxes off the host machine, and the same error occurs on both clients. Could it be the sheer number of faxes in the host receive folder? There are probably several hundred so far this year. Thanks for your time.

[jstevemd]

I sorted through all the faxes, and found the ones causing problems have a name with a comma in it. I think it is a software issue on the client to crash when a comma is seen. Maybe the comma was used as a deliminator or something. Is there anything that can be done to solve the problem?

[Administrator]

interesting, can you provide me an example of where the comma appears? Is it in the log entry in the Caller ID ? or Phone Number? or CSID?

and how did you determine these were causing a problem? do they crash the viewer when you attempt to view them on the Host computer?

Edited By Moderator on 1213474588

[jstevemd]

Here are some examples:

Aetna, Inc
Hall, CM
Goodroad, Bill

The Phone Number/CallerID field is empty in all faxes.

The Name filed and Remote CSID contain the same information as in the above examples.

I isolated the problem faxes out of several hundred ones, and soon realized the ones with commas were causing the problem.

These faxes can be viewed on the host just fine, but never get the chance on the client machine because when you click on “show all messages” in the “WinFax Pro Receive” window the program crashes on the client machine. The only way to reset the “WinFax Pro Receive” window is to reboot the client computer. This is the box that pops up on the client machine when you click on the “Receive” and then “Manual Receive Now” on the menu bar.

The client windows work perfectly fine as long as there are no faxes with a comma on the host machine. It seems to be a software problem listing the faxes in the “WinFax Pro Receive” window. So if there is a problem fax with a comma, you never have the chance to veiw any of the faxes on the client machine because the program window “WinFax Pro Receive” causes the crash.

I have no idea if the default button “Show unread messages only” would also cause the same problem when one of these comma faxes are received and unread prior to the client logging on. I do know, however, you can have read messages with a comma in it on the host machine and the “WinFax PRO Receive” window will pop up and you can read and download new messages. The trouble starts as soon as you click on the “Show all Messages” button AND you have a fax with a comma in the Name and/or CSID on the host machine.

Is there a workaround? Thanks for your time.

[JohnD]

I’ll have to look into this further, if this is the case it is a bug in WinFax. Since you can’t really control what others send to you, it will be difficult to avoid the problem if you consistantly receive a Caller ID with a comma in it.

I checked my Host’s receive log “Name” field and not a single entry had a comma in it, so I can see why I never would come across this issue.

You may be using TAPI mode and this is why you don’t see any caller id information under Caller ID/Number. Try switching WinFax to use the COM port where the modem is installed, instead of TAPI (this is in the Modems & Communications Settings)
After you make the change, you should be able to see both the Name and Caller ID/Phonenumber for all callers in the log for any new calls you receive (it won’t change any of the details in the existing entries)

[jstevemd]

I have a Zoom V90 PCI Faxmodem, when I go under properties COM3 is not a choice (and this is where the modem is). This modem is not a WinModem, so I had to enable it under the BIOS. The reason I stayed away from a WinModem is when a fax comes in the system freezes for several seconds. With the Zoom you can’t tell because it has its own processor. Anyways, I don’t think this will fix the problem because I don’t have caller ID service at the office. Let me know when you replicate the problem and if there is anything different I can do. Maybe it might be as simple as signing up for Caller ID. Thanks for your time.

[JohnD]

Perhaps I am not following you. If you don’t have Caller ID , how are you getting the senders name in the Name Field in your receive log at the host?

Do these names with a comma appear in the Remote CSID field?

[jstevemd]

The name field must be something sent with the fax. Sometimes it is a number, sometimes blank, and sometimes a name. It matches the Remote CSID in all the faxes. The caller ID would be under the “Phone Number/Caller ID” field. And this is blank for all the faxes.

You should be able to reproduce the problem by filling in the Remote CSID with a comma character. I am thinking it is a software deliminator problem on the client machine as I can reproduce it on both clients. I look forward to your thoughts. Thanks.

[JohnD]

So all these faxes have a comma within the Remote CSID ? and all the Name fields are the same as the Remote CSID ?

The Name is not sent with the fax, this is something that is filled in by WinFax and reported in the Receive Log. If they are all duplicates of the Remote CSID, then WinFax is simply copying the information it receives from the Remote CSID (which is sent with the fax) into the Name field. The other possibility is these senders exist in your phonebook, and WinFax is pulling the name from its phonebook based on the Remote CSID that is received from the fax.

Have you tried changing a CSID to include a comma, then send a fax to your Host machine?

Edited By Moderator on 1213550846

[jstevemd]

You are correct. Each name field matches the CSID. These senders are not in our phone book. I haven’t tried sending a fax myself with a comma in it, will try this weekend when the business is closed. Have checked on signing up for caller ID. Doubt that will help, but I can block calls from businesses using a comma in there CSID. Will check back this weekend. Thanks.

[Administrator]

I don’t believe you can block CSIDs that contain a comma using the “Junk Faxes” option in WinFax PRO 1 — but you can enter the entire known CSID that contains a comma and block that. Problem is the sender won’t know you’ve blocked them based on their CSID, it just wont accept the fax.

[jstevemd]

Have signed up for caller ID. So my thought is I can block certain numbers that are using commas. I have reproduced the error by faxing faxes to my office with and without commas. These faxes come through fine on the host, but the ones with commas crash the client machines. Any way to modify the program to use a different deliminator such as a carrot? Did symantic open source the program when the sundowned it? Or am I stuck looking into a new fax program? And if so, what would you recommend? Thanks for your time!

[Administrator]

If the problem is specific to CSID with a comma, then Caller ID will not allow you to block any call because a Caller ID is different from a fax CSID. The Fax CSID can be changed to anything the user wants by modifying either the fax program or fax machine setup for CSID.

Symantec did not release source code for WinFax PRO
As for alternate fax software, there is Snappy Fax (although I am not aware of the networking features) and ActiveFax which has a fax sharing feature but is much more expensive solution.

If you now have subscribed to Caller ID, you should try it again to see if the Name is actually populated with the actual Callers ID name instead of the CSID and then try again from the clients to see if that resolves (avoids) the problem.

Edited By Moderator on 1213793906

[Author]

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