Main Area and Open Discussion > General Software Discussion
Fax Software
Curt:
The name is Microsoft Shared Fax Driver. Maybe you need to first change your settings for sharing?
IainB:
...Many programs assume they can write files in the folder where the exe is. I usually create an .ini file for my AHK programs in the same folder as the AHK utility. From Vista on the system has gotten progressively more persnickety about writing to Program Files folders. To avoid running everything As Administrator on W8 I took ownership of all the files in the Program Files and Program Files (x86) folders. It's a pita. If the error occurs in XP then it is likely some other issue.
It is not recommended o take ownership of either all of C: or the Windows folder. Just in case anyone was considering that as a quick solution. :)
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-MilesAhead (May 08, 2015, 03:19 PM)
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^ That's why I install almost all software to a custom folder instead, although that obviously doesn't solve every permissions issue.
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-Vurbal (May 08, 2015, 05:51 PM)
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^^ +1 for that. I've tended to do that (install to custom folders rather than in Program Files) more and more over the years, to combat the increasing lengths the user has to go to, to defeat the growing number of seemingly unnecessarily restrictive system "security policies" and bugs therein.
Stoic Joker:
That might also explain why my PDF printers would seem to just disappear from the system entirely, even though the software appears to be working fine. If Windows can't talk to the device any more, it should disappear from the printer list. From Windows' perspective, it has effectively been unplugged. Actually, the more I think about it, the more likely that scenario seems.-Vurbal (May 08, 2015, 05:51 PM)
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Not quite. All things printer are controlled by the Print Spooler. So when the spooler starts it checks the registry (in 4 locations) to see what if any printer objects are to be loaded. If a device is offline or unavailable (for a multitude of reasons), it will still be loaded but be displayed in a greyed out state. It never removes anything ...(ever)... Which is frequently a performance issue if many offline/disconnected printers are installed on the system, especially if they have aggressive reporting/monitoring utilities that will then bring the shebang to a screeching halt. This is why our service department has a purge unused drivers policy to keep the Tech's machines from constantly crashing due to the spool having to drag a load of - for testing only single use - unavailable print device drivers.
This is why seeing the error, and knowing (before/after what step) when it is being thrown would help in figuring out what the issue is. A fax driver is simply a standard printer driver that prompts the user for a phone number before sending it (as a print job) and the number to the (frequently a Multi Function Printer) fax device.
Vurbal:
^ Thanks for the details. That should be a big help if I can reproduce the problem.
Interestingly, I apparently haven't run into the problem since switching from PDFCreator to Bullzip. I think it's already been installed longer than PDFCreator made it before problems showed up. Of course, I only notice it when I need to generate a PDF, and don't really have time for thorough troubleshooting.
Looks like it's time to install PDFCreator again and get a regular testing schedule setup. The long, and seemingly random, time between incidents makes a problem like this nearly impossible to track down any other way, unless you're prepared to wait a long time for the stars to align.
Is it sad that I'm looking forward to this?
Vurbal:
...Many programs assume they can write files in the folder where the exe is. I usually create an .ini file for my AHK programs in the same folder as the AHK utility. From Vista on the system has gotten progressively more persnickety about writing to Program Files folders. To avoid running everything As Administrator on W8 I took ownership of all the files in the Program Files and Program Files (x86) folders. It's a pita. If the error occurs in XP then it is likely some other issue.
It is not recommended o take ownership of either all of C: or the Windows folder. Just in case anyone was considering that as a quick solution. :)
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-MilesAhead (May 08, 2015, 03:19 PM)
--- End quote ---
^ That's why I install almost all software to a custom folder instead, although that obviously doesn't solve every permissions issue.
______________________________
-Vurbal (May 08, 2015, 05:51 PM)
--- End quote ---
^^ +1 for that. I've tended to do that (install to custom folders rather than in Program Files) more and more over the years, to combat the increasing lengths the user has to go to, to defeat the growing number of seemingly unnecessarily restrictive system "security policies" and bugs therein.
-IainB (May 09, 2015, 01:46 AM)
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You, sir, have a gift for understatement. That may be the single most effective strategy for eliminating bizarre access errors, especially if you have any software that's getting long in the tooth.
I do, generally, let Microsoft software install in the standard folders. I've never actually run into problems sticking any of their programs elsewhere, but their installers almost always put some files and folders under Program Files no matter where the main install location is. I figure splitting things up like that is more likely to cause problems than solve them.
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