Please help me find a modem

[DennisN]

I have Windows 7 Home Premium, 64-bit, upgraded from Vista since three days ago. OK, I believed the hype!

I have a simple problem. I want to print to Fax, but I haven't got a modem. I bought one in PC World on their assurance it would work with Win 7, but it wouldn't install and I've got me money back.

So I need a modem which will go on my PC, internal PCI for preference as externally I already have so much clutter it's getting difficult to walk in and out of my computer room.

Win 7 printing offers me the facility if only I can get a modem....

Print..
Select Printer... Instead of say, Officejet 6500, choose Fax
So that it then prints, then passes me to the Fax manager which lets me tell it what phone number (typed or brought from my email addressbook), add a fax header page with any writing thereon and press GO and off it goes.

The other way round, my phone rings, the fax feature automatically answers it as a fax (I never answer the phone, so it'll be set to always act as a fax) and saves the fax, making a marker to say a new fax has been received. I start Fax Viewer and read the fax. Simple (noise like Meerkat!).

BUT I can't find a fax modem which will guarantee working in Win 7.

Incidentally for anyone who asks, I didn't have a working fax in Vista because I mistakenly bought Home Premium which didn't support printing to fax (needed Business or something edition). I used to print to fax with XP Pro on my previous PC.
_________________
Dennis

If it tastes good - it's fattening.

Two of them are obesiting!!

[MaFt]

fax modems? how 1990's of you!

have you looked at online faxing? i.e. send and receive faxes via email? quite a few if you google such as http://www.interfax.net/en/lp3/uk-online-fax - £7.50 per month then 4.4p per fax sent.

just a thought then you can fax from anywhere, even your mobile or friends computer.

MaFt

[PaulB2005]

Or even some AIO (All In One) Printers have a FAX facility.

As for PCI modems i had to try to find one for someone when Vista came out. It was a struggle but i found one in the end.

Moral: Never listen to the PC World staff. They will ALWAYS tell you it works no matter what.

[PaulB2005]

There are a few listed here which MS say are 64 bit compatible.

Can't find a stockist but contact US Robotics and they might be able to tell you who stocks something suitable.

[DennisN]

I have an All-in-One printer, HP Officejet 6500n Wireless which does faxes. A "fix" to overcome the problem of not being able to fax with Vista Home Premium. But it's clunky. It's supposed to save faxes on my PC, but it took ages to find out how to set that up, it saved the first six and hasn't saved a single one since September. It doesn't save sent faxes.

I've wondered about online fax because the spotty person in PC World suggested the same when I got the modem refund. But it's NOT what I want - I'm a stick in the mud, I know how to print to Fax on my PC and how it works and saves stuff. And it's FREE (bar the phone bill) - I don't fancy paying £7.50 a month plus 4.4p per fax thank you very much - I don't even send £7.50 worth of faxes a year, so why pay £90 a year for it? And it sounds complicated. The spotty person told me it's free - what was that moral, Paul?

Incidentally, another spotty person elsewhere told me they had routers and routers have faxes built in.

I'll follow your suggestions Paul.

What I really want is some kind person to post here saying he's got Win 7 64-bit Home Premium and a PCI modem make/model xyz and it works.
_________________
Dennis

If it tastes good - it's fattening.

Two of them are obesiting!!

[Darren]

Why are you using FAX anyway? Can't the recipients accept email? Stick in the mud or otherwise, this is old technology and many companies no longer use it with good reason.

Now may be a good time to evaluate other solutions!
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Darren Griffin

[DennisN]

My biggest customer issues orders by post and won't pay until I've sent in my invoice quoting the order number. As they are very tardy at issuing orders, then posting them, it can be a fortnight before I get them. They can and do fax them if I remind them. This is a big national transport company and they have not the slightest idea how to attach the orders to an email!! Whilst I can count on the fingers of one hand the number of faxes I've sent this year, it's the incoming faxes I really need and need to save them.

I am a very, very modern (if overweight) OAP, I have Windows 7 64-bit and I wear socks with sandals and have Reactolite glasses. I have a fridge full of Stellas behind my computer chair and a box full of Bic biros ready for the next one to run out. But none of this gets my customer to use email attachments for my orders. I have written them a couple of letters, but either they can't read and have just dumped them, or they can't write so haven't answered. I'm just the piper here, they call the tune!
_________________
Dennis

If it tastes good - it's fattening.

Two of them are obesiting!!

[Darren]

In which case a fax2email service would solve your issue, you give the company a telephone number, they send a fax to it and the fax arrives in your mailbox as an email with the fax scanned.

Simple, printable and easily filed.
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Darren Griffin

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