[kaboondy]

Thank you. It appears that the settings are correct for the RPC. I found the Event Viewer in the computer management. There are Application, Security, System, and Internet Explorer as options to view. I assume it is the System option that you want me to report on. In fact, on my experimental trial of the XP Host to XP client, I found this error (this is at the home whereas the the main issue with the WIN2000 Host and XP client is at the office).

Can you also advise if the Host computer (which is WIN2K) will also have an event viewer as does the XP client?

I have tried to attach the file but I am unsure if this worked in a desired way. Please advise if this information is what you wanted (and in a format that is understood). Thank you.

[kaboondy]

@Moderator wrote:

Yes, those steps will work for sharing the message store but you do need to select the option of a Shared Message Store when the Message Store is created (I assume you’ve already done this). Yes, I did create a Shared Message folder and it works so very well

I see that you’ve deleted the shared phonebook and created a new shared phonebook and its no longer crashing. Its possible there was some sort of anomaly that caused the crash. I must assume the same conclusion as since the change there has been no issues with the shared phonebook; knowing that this issue is absolutely not dependant on the DCOM issue was very helpful

Also, while i do not know if this was an issue but as an experiment, I removed all the changes related to the security settings that are supposed to be for the Host computer – I had originally applied all the host security changes to the XP client which presumably was unnecessary (but not sure if created the problem). I also turned the Windows firewall off. the above changes seem to work. When I turned the WIN Firewall on – (with the controller as an exception) I ran into a problem with connecting with the Host.

Did you re-apply step 1-4 on the client? It should connect with both firewall off and on if steps 1 -4 are applied.

Yes I did re-apply the changes from steps 1-4. However, I am not confident that the changes in step #3 (RPC and DCOM) were done successfuly as I am not sure how to assess the conclusion despite the “Show Service” command at the end as the output does not make sense to me. I did this several times. The output in the DOS window is like this (I tried to copy and paste a screen shot but this does not work for this window):

Service Configuration for Domain Profile:
Mode Customized Name

---

Enable No File and Print Sharing
Enable No Remote Desktop
Enable No Remote Adminstration

Service Configuration for Standard Profile:
Mode Customized Name

---

Enable No File and Print Sharing
Enable No Remote Desktop
Enable No Remote Adminstration

Despite the attempts, if WIN Firewall is activated (with the Controller and PING) as exceptions (in my network only OR any computer on the internet) there is still the same error when connecting with the Host – “RPC server error”.

I hope this is helpful information. Thank you again for remaining interested in this issue. My ultimate purpose is to set up the network so that a WIN XP Host can connect to a WIN XP Client. I have already tried this in an experiment on another very small (two computer) network and it failed completely. Thank you again.

[kaboondy]

This is just an update to the last post. Since your earlier advice that “the shared phonebook is no different than a shared drive and does not relate to the COM issue” or other security issues, I gave the shared phonebook a drive letter on the XP client so that when the computers boots, it would register the location. In addition, I also deleted the shared phonebook (located on the server) even though it was working with all the WIN2K clients. I created another shared phonebook (and did not make it read only). With the above changes, the phonebook is not creating a problem any longer. The send window dialogue no longer freezes.

Also, while i do not know if this was an issue but as an experiment, I removed all the changes related to the security settings that are supposed to be for the Host computer – I had originally applied all the host security changes to the XP client which presumably was unnecessary (but not sure if created the problem). I also turned the Windows firewall off. the above changes seem to work. When I turned the WIN Firewall on – (with the controller as an exception) I ran into a problem with connecting with the Host.

I hope the above information is useful. Thank you again for your help.

[kaboondy]

@Moderator wrote:

@kaboondy wrote:

4. A shared phonebook is located on the Server computer (the allows a single update to the shared phonebook rather than having to update each client phonebook individually whenever there is an update – we have weekly updates of new fax numbers)
5. A Shared fax database on a separate computer (where all received faxes are stored). This allows all client computers see all received faxes and manage in a shared environment. This is very helpful in an office environment where each staff has shared responsiblity.

I’m not sure what you mean by #5 above. You shouldn’t be sharing any databases in WinFax, with the exception of a read-only shared phonebook that is a supported feature. Are you referring to the “Host/Server” installed on a Windows 2000 PC with WinFax PRO 10.03 ? The “Server” should be handing all sent and received faxes locally, and when you connect using WinFax Fax Sharing Mode with a “client” you then can send and receive faxes on each separate connected “client”. A copy of the faxes are then stored on each client PC in addition to the Host (Server)

I am sorry I was not very clear. What I have done is create a new message store on a networked drive. (Start with File, New, Message Store – once created – we can then use the same protocol for all the other client computers but “use existing message store option on the menu”). This method allows each user to have all the same information on their computers. In the past each client computer downloaded the received fax from the server computer into the local received folder and received folder on each cleint became divergent and work (annonations) made on one received fax could not be easily shared with other clients. By having a shared message store, we are able to have a common received storage location and workload can be shared while sub-folders can also be created to distribute the workload in an organised manner. I hope this is a better explanation.

I have highlighted the response in red to make the readability easier (hopefully). Thank you.

@kaboondy wrote:

NEW XP SP3 box has had numerous problems – Despite the win firewall being turned off – section 2 needed to be done as well as the following (detailed instructions removed to save space):

Section 1: To ensure that the Windows Firewall is enabled (turned off initially but did not work)
Section 2: To add the WinFax Controller program to the Windows Firewall Exceptions list.
Section 3: To enable Remote Administration traffic through the Firewall by enabling RPC and DCOM
Section 4: To enable machine wide, remote access to COM for Anonymous Logon users
Section 5: To enable Anonymous Logon users to have machine wide, remote activation access to COM
Section 6: To enable Anonymous Logon users to have remote activation access to the WinFax.Attachment DCOM component

Despite this, the WinFax 10.03 installation on the WIN XP SP3 computer did not access the Shared Phonebook on the Server computer. When I would send a test fax the dialogue would freeze and the program would no longer respond (requiring a “end task” command in Task Manager). When WinFax was updated to 10.04 – the SharedPhone book was readily seen and the send dialogue window was operational.

I’m confused here. Does this mean the Fax Sharing is working between the host/server and the clients?, but sharing a common (read-only) phonebook does not? Sharing a phonebook doesn’t require any of the DCOM settings that you mentioned above in section 1 though 6 – all is required is a shared network location that is accessible from each client (it should be the same process as sharing a folder from a networked PC to another PC.) You would need create a read-only phonebook in WinFax on the Server PC and then add an existing phonebook (pointing to the shared network location) at each client. The folder where the phonebook is stored needs to be a “shared” folder in Windows and accessible to each of the client PCs for this to work.

Yes, Fax Sharing is working very well for sending/receiving faxes between the Host and all WIN2K clients. There is also no problem with the shared (read-only) shared phonebook located on the host and the WIN2K clients. The same shared phonebook seems to cause the XP client to freeze when trying to acces the phonebook in the menu or when sending a fax (which then causes the shared phonebook to be used). The send dialogue window freezes. The root folder where the shared phonebook is located is shared (but not specifically the actual sub-folder where the shared phonebook is located – I assume this should not be a problem).

@kaboondy wrote:

HOWEVER, there is a constant “hourglass” change to the cursor now – even when not in WinFax (ie on the desktop) as if there is a process that overtakes the computer. I was not able to define this easily in the Task Manager. This is quite irritating as every few seconds one has to click the window that one is working on as it turns “grey” and becomes “inactive”. This would make productivity very limited.

What else in addition to WinFax PRO 10.04 installed on this Windows XP system? WinFax is always running in the background if the WinFax PRO Controller is active. There are two processes that also run all the time, they are WFXSNT40.EXE and WFXSWTCH.EXE (active on Windows XP v10.02 or higher only). These shouldn’t use much CPU, or slow down your system and are both required by WinFax and should never be disabled. An optional Windows service that is started when Windows loads is always active. The WinFax Service (WFXSVC.EXE) isn’t required and can be disabled. (It shouldn’t be running anyway if you have installed WinFax as a client for use with Fax Sharing.)

The only other program running on the XP client (and all the WIN2K) is a medical program. Office 2003 is also installed but not always active.

I did uninstall the 10.04 program on the XP client and reinstalled the 10.03 to see if there would be any difference. None was noted when 10.03 was reinstalled. I may have made an error in the dcom settings as I used all the setting changes on the client – from 1 – 7 which are normally required for an XP host only. Could this be a source of the problem? I can revert the changes and see what happens.

I am sorry that, perhaps, I am not supplying good useful information to you. Please let me know if there is any other information you need. Any help in resolving the issue would be very helpful as we will need to move to XP as newer computers do not have all the drivers for WIN2000. Thank you again.

[kaboondy]

I have finally had the time to install a new WIN XP box in my network. I have the following configuration:

1. Private Wired Network (no wireless access) with no access to to the internet (hence no firewalls and no anti-virus program)
2. WinFax server is a WIN 2000 box (10.03)
3. 5 clients are WIN 2000 boxes (all 10.03)
4. A shared phonebook is located on the Server computer (the allows a single update to the shared phonebook rather than having to update each client phonebook individually whenever there is an update – we have weekly updates of new fax numbers)
5. A Shared fax database on a separate computer (where all received faxes are stored). This allows all client computers see all received faxes and manage in a shared environment. This is very helpful in an office environment where each staff has shared responsiblity.

NEW XP SP3 box has had numerous problems – Despite the win firewall being turned off – section 2 needed to be done as well as the following (detailed instructions removed to save space):

Section 1: To ensure that the Windows Firewall is enabled (turned off initially but did not work)
Section 2: To add the WinFax Controller program to the Windows Firewall Exceptions list.
Section 3: To enable Remote Administration traffic through the Firewall by enabling RPC and DCOM
Section 4: To enable machine wide, remote access to COM for Anonymous Logon users
Section 5: To enable Anonymous Logon users to have machine wide, remote activation access to COM
Section 6: To enable Anonymous Logon users to have remote activation access to the WinFax.Attachment DCOM component

Despite this, the WinFax 10.03 installation on the WIN XP SP3 computer did not access the Shared Phonebook on the Server computer. When I would send a test fax the dialogue would freeze and the program would no longer respond (requiring a “end task” command in Task Manager). When WinFax was updated to 10.04 – the SharedPhone book was readily seen and the send dialogue window was operational.

HOWEVER, there is a constant “hourglass” change to the cursor now – even when not in WinFax (ie on the desktop) as if there is a process that overtakes the computer. I was not able to define this easily in the Task Manager. This is quite irritating as every few seconds one has to click the window that one is working on as it turns “grey” and becomes “inactive”. This would make productivity very limited.

I wonder if you can figure something out from the information I have iterated above. I can provide more information if needed.

It would be nice to know if (in general) WIn XP ultimately works are effectively with WinFax as WIN2000. The main issue for me is that computers do not always have proper drivers for WIN2000 – hence the push to try to make WIN XP work. I would appreciate any help/ideas that you might have. Thank you.

[kaboondy]

There are three version of the file on the XP computer. I assume two are storage sites (located in the “Service pack files”) while the third is the active file and presumaby all the same. I will try your suggestion and report to you. Thank you.

I can now report back to the forum that I copied the file “SBDINST.EXE” from the WINXP computer and pasted into the WINNT folder on C drive and then activated the Program from the forum – this time it posted a reponse that it completed the install and the problem of not enough space seems to have been resolved. This has only been tested for a few minutes so I will report if there are any lingering issues.

THANK YOU VERY MUCH!! 😀 😉

[kaboondy]

@Moderator wrote:

@kaboondy wrote:

Is there any performance gain in spending the effort and making the change to the Host and Clients all installed on Win XP machines?

in regards to WinFax, there is no performance gain. If you do switch to Windows XP SP3, you would need to make changes to Windows XP DCOM security for fax sharing to continue to work. There are postings about this in the Fax Sharing forum.

I am sorry, I should have asked the question a different way – is there a performance loss or are there continuing installation related issues (after the installation). I am specifically referring to the use of WinFax in Networking (or Host/Client mode). I have used WinFax for many many years with XP as the OS. BUT, the XP install has always been in stand alone mode (without ever having any problems). Until I found this forum, I had given up on the idea of trying to make the WinFax work in Host Mode using XP. In other words, once the program is set up in XP SP3, does the program run as well (in Host Mode) as it does in WIN2000.

From my point of view, the main benefit of using XP SP3 is that one can still get updates for XP and cannot for WIN2000 (from Microsoft). I refrained from upgrading the OS because my worry is the use of XP in Host Mode might still be full of problems (despite the solutions offered on this forum). If it is as stable as WIN2000 then I might take the effort to replace (reinstall) win2000 with XP on all the computers. A lot of effort – so that is the reason to ask.

Thank you for patiently answering my question.

[kaboondy]

Unfortunately, the program was not listed in the Add/Remove Programs. The SDBINST.exe file was not found in the system either. I am not sure how to get this file (tried to do a Google search but not successful with the microsoft website). Is there something else that you would suggest. I believe the WIn2000 install is SP4 and also has the post SP4 rollup installed as well.

Any further suggestions would be very helpful.

Thank you.

[kaboondy]

@kaboondy wrote:

@Moderator wrote:

if only 1 out of the 5 clients fail to read the shared phonebook, then its likely a problem with that specific client installation of WinFax PRO.

If you remove the shared phonebook from that specific client that is failing, and create a new default phonebook. Does it continue to fail when selecting a phonebook? or opening the Send dialog?

Thank you for your prompt response. The client computer in question has been in operation for about one year (as a client but without the shared phonebook) and was a stand alone installation for a little longer previously – in other words, the install was stable. I got the idea of a shared phonebook from this Forum for which I am very grateful (as it does work with the other three computers). The only thing that seems to be different from the one failed computer and the others is that the failed computer is a PIII (pentium 3) while the others are P4. I don’t this would be the explanation, however.

Unfortunately, i am unable to access the phonebook any longer as the moment I try to access the phonebook (either directly by going to the “Go” then “Phonebook” menu or indirectly by sending a fax), the computer freezes and I have to Ctrl-Alt-Del out of the program. In other words, the program no longer responds at all. I will have to reinstall the program (unless you have a suggestion for a remedy to try).

Thank you again for your help.

This is quite bizzare but when I returned to the office to deal with the shared phonebook issue – there is no longer a problem. I was planning to reinstall WinFax from scratch but the computer has been operational for the past 2 days with no reported issues. I will report if we run into any issues. Thank you again. 😮 😀

[kaboondy]

@Moderator wrote:

The problem is due to some sort of failure of the WinFax NT Kernel Mode printer drivers. There is a tech net article which describes the Kernel Mode Printer driver here: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc784266(v=ws.10).aspx
The WinFax drivers are Kernel Mode drivers and were developed with the release of Windows NT 4.1. The drivers were carried over to Windows 2000, and eventually Windows XP. Microsoft has discouraged the development of Kernel Mode printer drivers since the release of Windows 2000 but continued to allow them be used in future operating systems for backwards compatibility purposes. It wasn’t until the release of Microsoft Vista that Microsoft completely blocked the installation of Kernel Mode drivers. This is the reason why WinFax PRO is not compatible with Vista, Windows 7 or any future Microsoft operating system.

This is not a common problem and is unfortunately difficult to resolve. The problem may be related to the combination of hardware you are using. It may be related to Video drivers or some other device that may be using the same “memory space” as the WinFax printer driver.

Here are some suggestions you can try to avoid the problem:
Instead of using the “WinFax (Photo Quality)” printer driver, try the “WinFax” driver or vice-versa.
Wait until WinFax has finished processing the current print job before starting another (the Send dialog box shows the status of the current print job in the bottom left corner)
If a possible video related issue, try adjusting your video drivers to lower resolution, or update video drivers if they are available.

This is a very helpful explanation as I have always thought this issue was related to my NIC card (network interface card). It would be easier to use the other solution (trying the winfax photo quality) first as this does not require changing anything expect the default printer setting (which is currently set to WinFax regular quality printer driver. I personally do not see any difference between the two when it comes to simple documents.

I can also see if there is an updated video driver for the video card(s).

This also might explain the intermittent nature of the problem. In other words, if the user is really fast at posting the documents to the WinFax printer – it might crash and if the user is slow (and therfore the each print job has a chance to be completed) the computer does not crash. One way to test this would be to take several large multipage files and post them quickly to winfax printer not allowing the completion of the printer task before another is sent to the printer. In fact, I am motivated to try this first just to prove the point. If correct, then changing to WinFax Photo Quality will not make any difference.

I will report to you once I have completed this. Again, thank you.

[kaboondy]

@Moderator wrote:

if only 1 out of the 5 clients fail to read the shared phonebook, then its likely a problem with that specific client installation of WinFax PRO.

If you remove the shared phonebook from that specific client that is failing, and create a new default phonebook. Does it continue to fail when selecting a phonebook? or opening the Send dialog?

Thank you for your prompt response. The client computer in question has been in operation for about one year (as a client but without the shared phonebook) and was a stand alone installation for a little longer previously – in other words, the install was stable. I got the idea of a shared phonebook from this Forum for which I am very grateful (as it does work with the other three computers). The only thing that seems to be different from the one failed computer and the others is that the failed computer is a PIII (pentium 3) while the others are P4. I don’t this would be the explanation, however.

Unfortunately, i am unable to access the phonebook any longer as the moment I try to access the phonebook (either directly by going to the “Go” then “Phonebook” menu or indirectly by sending a fax), the computer freezes and I have to Ctrl-Alt-Del out of the program. In other words, the program no longer responds at all. I will have to reinstall the program (unless you have a suggestion for a remedy to try).

Thank you again for your help.

[kaboondy]

Downloaded the file as per your shortcut. When I tried to install into the office compute (with WIN2000 and no internet access) a small window opened indicating there would be a post when the change was done – unfortunately there was no post and the issue still remains. I assume the program looks for the internet access for validation and simply quits when no internet access is found.

Can you please advise if I can download the file and “activate” on my home computer and then take “the activated copy” to the office and use it – do you think that would work? There are a number of features that are on the WinFax tools that would also be helpful for my office WinFax server system.

Thank you for responding so promptly.

[kaboondy]

This is absolutely wonderful information. I will give these solutions a try and report back to the forum. Thank you very much.

[kaboondy]

Thank you and I will report to you on how this worked.

Can you also advise if there is way to deal with the issue of the client computer indicating the fax was not sent with an “X” mark (indicating that the host did not properly supply the information on the fax) while the Host indicates the fax was sent correctly with a check mark on the fax. I understand from another post that it is a time syncronization issue between the two computers; how does one synchronize time between 4 computers? The symantec webpage that is listed on the post does not work. Would this be also fixed with WinFax Tools?

Thank you.

[kaboondy]

The symantec webpage is no longer posted on their website so the instructions are not available. IS there a posting somewhere that i can access? Also, if time synchronization is the issue, how does one synchronize the time with several computers on a network? And keep the time synchronized (and not drift over time)? Thank you.

[Author]

Posts