Possible solution to the WinFax Pro Modem problems
I have spent the last two weekends trying out Windows 2000 Beta. At first glance, I am reminded of an economics term that I think is called differential pricing. This is where you market a product at various price levels, kind of like the Japanese cars one brand for the common man and a different brand for the wealthy. I was exposed to this many years before I heard the term in my economics class in college. I was stationed in Rimbach, a small German town on the Czechoslavakian border. I used to eat in a small restaurant and became friends with the owner, George. His menu had four pages of meals. The first two had elegant names like Schweine Steak Jedger Art (pork hunter style), while the last two had more common names like Jedger Schnitzel. George let me know very early on that the first two pages were for the vacationers from Berlin and the prices were higher.
The end result of differential pricing is eventually we all start paying higher prices. This offering of Windows 2000 in the Personal, Professional, Server, and Advanced Server versions will have us all paying higher prices for Windows 2000. If you want to set up a domain controller you must purchase the server or advanced server versions. The Professional version is only a client, and I still think the best client for a Windows NT Network is Windows 98.
The advanced server version offers a terminal server option for serving applications to thin net clients (diskless workstations). I still find the thin net clients are suitable only in high security environments where you do not want people to have the ability to remove files from your system. With the drop in the cost of computer hardware, why would you want to burden a server and your network with the added overhead of serving applications directly from the server. Extremely large hard drives are now within the reach of the average person. My server has a 13.1 GB hard drive and my workstations have 9.3 GB and 5.4 GB hard drives. I do not think that Windows NT 2000 Advanced Server has the speed necessary to adequately handle the task of a terminal server.
I find that Windows NT 2000 is substantially slower that NT 4.0 in startup and opening files and is extremely slow connecting to network assets. Shutdown is the only thing that is fast in Windows 2000.
While I often do grumble about Microsoft, I would like to give the Microsoft Team some credit for possibly the best feature included in their Microsoft Office 97 Software. I have not found reference to this anywhere and Microsoft probably does not realize what they have included in the Office 97 Software. Did you ever want to learn Visual Basic programming? Wondering why Melissa Virus spread so rapidly? Microsoft included in Office 97, Visual Basic as the language for writing macros. I work on one particular problem where an individual corrupted his macros from Office 95 while trying to import them into Office 97. While troubleshooting the problem, I found that the Macro editor used by Office 97 was fully capable of writing very complex Visual Basic applications. You are even able to create Graphic User Interfaces with the macro editor.
How do you begin? Start by launching Word and opening a new document. Then select tools and from the drop down menu select macro. Next select record macro. Now from this point on whatever you do in Word is recorded. Open a document (use one of the sample documents) and try a search and replace. Save the file with a new name then stop the recording. Next go to the tools menu and select macros then edit macro. The editor will open and you will be able to browse the Visual Basic code used to do the steps in the macro. You can make changes to the macro to see how they work. If you are learning Visual Basic, this is a great place to experiment. I have demonstrated this feature to a number of colleagues, who were fascinated by the power of the macros I could write. I could open files, print files, replace text and file names. This is very powerful and easier to use than Microsoft Visual Basic.
I am amazed at some of the things I call 'gems' which Microsoft includes with their software. Another gem is the Microsoft Management Console (MMC) which has been included with the Windows 98 Resource Kit. You probably thought the only place you could find the MMC was in Windows NT 4.0. I thought so until I stumbled on it when I was reloading the Resource Kit on my computer.
The problem is after installing WinFax Pro on Windows 98 you are unable to use you modem with any programs including WinFax Pro. The modem will be setup properly, but no longer works. This issue happens with US Robotics 56K modems, but I know for a fact that the problem also occurs with my Practical Peripherals 33.6K modems. Rechecking the modems on one of my other computers which does not have the WinFax Pro proves the modems are working fine.
I used the Microsoft Technical Support Website and had applied the fixes they suggested with no fix to the problem. I called the Symantec Technical Support phone number and wasted a few hours with them. According to their Technician and his supervisor the problem is not Symantec's problem. They suggested I call the US Robotics Support line, which I did. Once again no solution to the problem.
This type of support is unacceptable and while I do have case numbers with Symantec and US Robotics there was no suggestion of any higher level of support or any concern about fixing the problem. Microsoft is not blameless in this problem. It may be the reason Microsoft decided to exclude their WinFax from the Windows 98 installation. It is on the CDROM, but is not installed with Windows 98. You will find it in the D:\tools\oldwin95\message\us (where D: is your CDROM drive).
This is not an isolated problem. During my wife's and my own web searches we found hundreds of people with the problem. At the present time I would suggest you hold off purchasing WinFax Pro until a resolution is found to the problem. I do have the resources to recover from all but a large scale catastrophy, but most people only have one computer with one modem and this type of problem shuts down access to the internet. If you must have a fax program then use the one from the Windows 98 CDROM. IF you have problems there then Microsoft is the one to call for support and you should not find yourself chasing your tail.
I am looking into this problem and as soon as I can find a fix I will post it.
Possible solution to the WinFax Pro Modem problems
After many hours of troubleshooting this problem, my wife Dotti, found a possible solution to this problem. Try to upgrade the HyperTerminal. Begin at the Start button, select Programs, Accessories, Communications, and then HyperTerminal. When HyperTerminal opens select upgrade and follow the upgrade instructions. After upgrading the HyperTerminal reboot and test your modem and WinFax Pro.
My USB collection includes A UMAX Astra 1220U scanner, a Microsoft USB Keyboard (My stepson gave the keyboard to me for Christmas, a really great gift!), and a Microsoft Sidewinder Pro Joystick, which I bought for my wife.
The scanner works great and I simply plugged it in. Windows 98 recognized it with no problem and setup was simple. The Keyboard likewise was recognized and is working fine.
The Microsoft Sidewinder Pro was a problem. I finally got it working on one of my computers. I visited the Microsoft website and found that I was not alone with problems with the Sidewinder Pro. I delved a little deeper into the USB problems and discovered that there are some motherboards which have on board sound cards which interfere with the USB ports. I will have more to say here concerning this problem.
Why move to Windows 98? This question has been posed and answered numerous times. I have reviewed hundreds of "Why you should upgrade to Windows 98" and "Why you shouldn't upgrade to Windows 98" articles in magazines and on the Internet. Most of these articles leave me wondering if the authors really gave Windows 98 a good look, most have been shallow reviews at best. These articles seem to say either upgrade or don't upgrade. Some say why upgrade when you can download most of the new features of Windows 98 for Windows 95 from Microsoft Website. This still leaves you with Windows 95 and the problems associated with Windows 95. My own feeling is if you are using a Pentium 90 or better CPU then upgrade. If you have less than a Pentium 90 then I would suggest that you stay with Windows 95 (add the Windows 98 features if you want).
I work in the field of software and hardware support and feel that Windows 98 is much more stable than Windows 95. The tools included with Windows 98 should help reduce the trouble calls to support technicians and speed up the troubleshooting process on trouble calls. I see Windows 98 as the best move by Microsoft toward "reducing the total cost of ownership". I am amazed at the number of large businesses which are still using Windows 3.1. Windows 95 should have replaced Windows 3.1 computers. Think of the features that came with Windows 95: the network configuration is simple with Windows 95 compared to doing the same on Windows 3.1; the ODBC programming interface included with Windows 95 make it a simple task to connect to SQL and other databases, plug and play, while not perfect in Windows 95, still reduces the time spent configuring hardware. Last but not least, the multi-tasking features of Windows 95 far exceed the possibilities of Windows 3.1. What should these businesses do to increase productivity and reduce support cost? My suggestion is that they should move to Windows 98 not Windows 95. The benefits of moving to Windows 98 far exceed the cost of maintaining the Windows 3.1 systems. I would even hold off on the major transitions to Windows NT 4.0, as Windows NT 5.0 should be a better, more refined NT system. If Microsoft puts in the same effort for Windows NT 5.0 that they put into Windows 98, it will be the operating system of choice for major corporations.
There have been numerous reports of Windows 98 problems, but most of these problems have been caused by upgrading Windows 95 to Windows 98. When I was using the Beta 3 version of Windows 98 I mentioned the best way to avoid problems with upgrading was to do a clean install. This requires moving files off the hard drive, fdisking to remove the partitions, then formatting the drive. After the drive is formatted, then do the installation of Windows 98. This requires more time and planning, but is worth the effort.
Windows 98 is not just a simple repair of Windows 95 as suggested by some authors. Many people are holding off purchasing Windows 98, because they have been led to believe that it is only a fix for Windows 95 and why should they have to purchase this fix which Microsoft should have provided free of charge to Windows 95 users. Windows 98 was a major project for Microsoft and as such they do deserve to recover their cost and even make a profit.
I just read an interesting article concerning OEM's toning down their website warnings against upgrading to Windows 98. These postings warn users of certain models of their computers to hold off on upgrading to Windows 98 until they fix their BIOS. I would be put off buying a computer from a corporation which does not have a BIOS suitable for Windows 98. These may be some of the problems some of you are experiencing even with a clean install. I suggest you take the link above and read the article.
Click on the screw driver to view Windows 98 tools page.
Press the World button to the left to send comments to Wayne
Press the World button to the left to return to Wayne's Computer World