Outlook 2007 Fax Mail Transport

[Mark_Affinite]

I have a brand new Dell Latitude E6500 laptop, with Vista Business 64 bit SP1
& Outlook 2007 Professional SP2 pre installed.

We have an Windows 2003 SBS Server in the office running MS shared fax.

On the laptop, I can successfully configure Windows Fax & Scan to use the
shared fax on the server, over a VPN connection.

In Outlook 2007, I can go into Tools, Account Settings and add New, Other,
Fax Mail Transport. However, after restarting Outlook as requested, I am
unable to configure fax mail transport - I get "the requested operation
failed".

On another system running Vista Ultimate 32 bit & Outlook 2007 Professional,
this all works fine.

I can see from Task Manager that Windows Fax & Scan runs in 64 bit mode, and
Outlook runs in 32 bit mode, which may be relevant.

Is there a way to make this work correctly?

 

[Russ Valentine]

Are you certain that Windows Fax and Scan works on this laptop? That error
message suggests it is not configured correctly. You do not configure WFS
from Outlook. You must configure it in WFS. State what steps produce that
error message.

 

[Mark_Affinite]

Yes, Windows Fax & Scan works OK. I understand that Windows Fax & Scan is a
separate application from Outlook, and it needs configuring - which I have
done.

In Outlook, when I go into Tools, Account Settings, select Fax Mail
Transport and click on the Change button, then I get "The requested operation
failed". I would expect it to come up with a dialogue showing the shared fax
server settings, as it does on the working Vista 32 bit system.

 

[Russ Valentine]

Since this isn't a 32 bit system, state how you configured WFS and how well
it works. State how you added the fax transport to your profile. You must do
so using the 32 bit Mail application in Control Panel.

 

[Mark_Affinite]

state how you configured WFS and how well it works.

I fired up WFS. Tools, Fax Accounts, Add. I choose 'connect to a fax server
on my network' and enter \\<fax server name>. It then shows up in the list as
connected, and as the default (only) fax printer.

I can then choose New Fax, enter the fax number in To and some text in
Subject, Cover Page Notes & the fax body & press Send.

The fax appears in the Outbox of the Fax Console on the Fax Server and is
then sent successfully.

State how you added the fax transport to your profile.

As I previously said, "In Outlook 2007, I can go into Tools, Account
Settings and add New, Other,Fax Mail Transport."

You must do so using the 32 bit Mail application in Control Panel.

OK. I have now used this interface instead - though it looks identical to
doing it in Outlook. After closing and restarting Mail, Mail Setup, E-Mail
Accounts, if I try to Change 'Fax Mail Transport', then I get the same "the
requested operation failed" error.

 

[Russ Valentine]

Any other error messages?
If you fire up WFS and make sure it sees your server fax before you start
your Outlook profile, does the same thing happen?
Sounds like the Fax transport might not be authenticating to the server when
you start it from Outlook. What other transports are in this profile?

 

[Mark_Affinite]

I fired up WFS, and successfully sent a fax using the shared fax server.

If I try and change Fax Mail Transport (using either 32 bit Mail or
Outllook, Tools, Account Settings), then I get the "the requested operation
failed" error.

When I try to send a fax using Outlook, the msg goes into the Sent folder
without any error, but the fax never appears on the shared fax server.

There is no other transport - only the Microsoft Exchange Server account.

 

[Russ Valentine]

Does the message have a valid, resolved fax address? If so, the next
troubleshooting step is to try a profile with only the Fax transport in it.

 

[Mark_Affinite]

Yes, teh fax address is from teh shared address book and works from Outlook
on other systems (including Vista 32 bit / Outlook 2007 combination).

I built a new profile containing only a fax mail transport. Behaviour is
exactly the same: If I try and change Fax Mail Transport (using either 32 bit
Mail or Outllook, Tools, Account Settings), then I get the "the requested
operation failed" error. When I try to send a fax using Outlook, the msg goes
into the Sent folder without any error, but the fax never appears on the
shared fax server.

 

[Russ Valentine]

I've seen no instances in which this behavior has been reproduced. The only
thing I've seen that's similar is WFS's failing to authenticate to the fax
server, but you've eliminated that possibility since WFS connects fine on
its own. The problem seems to be the Outlook profile's failing to configure
the Fax Mail Transport. Since profile configuration is a 32 bit app, I
suspect it may have something to do with Vista 64 bit. Not sure I've seen
anyone try to configure the Fax Mail transport on a 64 bit partition, or
that it's possible. Since Outlook no longer supports fax integration, I
doubt we'll get any answers from Microsoft.

 

[Mark_Affinite]

Oh dear. Please could you explain exactly what you mean by "Since Outlook no
longer supports fax integration"?

 

[Russ Valentine]

Support for Fax integration with Outlook was abandoned years ago. The only
reason the capability still exists is that it was easier to leave the relic
code for integration behind than to remove it from current versions.