Class system fouls up fax.

Question: I am trying to fax out using Delrina Winfax Pro7.0 (for Windows 95). Ninety-five per cent of my faxes connect with no problems.

Two friends, however, have fax machines that don’t connect with mine. The program starts up, connects (a connection speed is shown), and the “training” begins (which I later found out is a test protocol). It’s during this training that the connection fails and no fax is sent.

I have a feeling it is because my setup is Class 1 and theirs are Class 2 machines.

So what the heck is the difference between the classes and how would I go about changing this? I am running a Pentium 100 with 16MB of RAM with Windows 95.

Answer: The difference is a matter of hardware data flow control versus software data flow control.

That might sound kind of complicated, but it really isn’t. Once you know which data flow control you’re using, you’ll know what controls the way in which data is poured through the phone lines.

In one case, a piece of software (or a program like Winfax) calls the shots on how data is sent. On the other hand, hardware handles the push and pull of information. Chances are your friends’ fax machines are using hardware data flow controls.

I checked with Delrina’s Shelly Sofer, who said, “When you use a Class 1 machine, more of the fax transmission is handled by software. In a Class 2 model, most of transmission is handled by the hardware.”

To solve the problem, try playing with some software settings in Winfax on your end. Go to Setup, then Modem and click the Properties button. Under one of the tabs is a check-mark next to hardware flow control.

“Play with that,” said Sofer. “Check it on. Or failing that turn it off. Also try turning error correction mode off.”

It may take a bit of testing, but that should solve your problem on the more troublesome connections. The issue here is that there are fax machines that are not standardized, and fax cards can’t always determine the best way of communicating with those.

“We’re cognizant of that,” said Sofer. “In the next release of Delrina Winfax (version 8.0) we’ll be shipping drivers that talk to fax machines more effectively, so the user doesn’t have to worry about that.”

One other tidbit on the next version of Winfax: It will include TalkWorks, software that allows you to set up your computer to receive phone messages. It will also have a fax-on-demand capability and have features that support Caller ID and a hands-free mode.

To get more information on Winfax Pro, call 1-800-441-7234.
There’s also information available at www.symantec.com.