OL2000: (CW) Microsoft Fax Compatibility Issues with Outlook 2000 (237260)

NOTE: The procedures in this article only apply if you have installed Outlook with the Corporate or Workgroup option. With this option, you can use Messaging Application Programming Interface (MAPI) services. To determine your installation type, click About Microsoft Outlook on the Help menu. If you have the Corporate or Workgroup installation, you see "Corporate or Workgroup".

SYMPTOMS

Microsoft Fax (previously known as At Work Fax) may exhibit the following behavior when used with Outlook:

When starting Outlook, or when starting Microsoft Fax from the Fax Wizard or another Microsoft Office 2000 program, you may receive the following error message:
A recently installed program may cause Microsoft Office or other e-mail-enabled programs to function improperly. Outlook can resolve this conflict without affecting the program that originally caused the problem. Do you want Outlook to resolve this conflict?
If you click Yes you will see the following error message:
Outlook was unable to resolve the conflict between a recently installed program and Microsoft Office or other e-mail-enabled programs. Outlook needs to modify a system component that another program is currently using. To fix this problem, please restart Windows.
Faxing from the Fax Wizard or another Office program with Outlook running, may be slow. It may take several minutes for the fax process to be initiated. However, once initiated, the fax process will work normally.
Faxing from the Fax Wizard or another Office program with Outlook closed, may not work at all. The fax may never be delivered to the Outlook Outbox, or if it is delivered, it may remain there indefinitely. Starting Outlook after this occurs may cause the fax process to start, but it will be very slow. Once the fax transmission is completed, the Messaging Application Program Interface (MAPI) process may continue to run after quitting Outlook and the system may become unstable, requiring a restart of Microsoft Windows.

RESOLUTION

Run the Fixmapi Utility

To resolve the error message:

Windows 95/98: Restart your computer in Safe Mode.

Windows Millennium Edition: Press CLT+ALT+DELETE and in the Close Program dialog box, close all programs except Explorer.
Windows 95/98: Click Start, point to Find, and then click Files or Folders.

Windows Millennium Edition: Click Start, point to Search, and then click For Files or Folders.
Windows 95/98: In the Named box, type Fixmapi.exe. In the Look In list, click My Computer, and then click Find Now.

Windows Millennium Edition: In the Search for files or folders named box, type Fixmapi.exe. In the Look In list, click My Computer, and then click Search Now.
In the items found window, double-click Fixmapi.exe.
Restart your computer.

Always Start Outlook Before Faxing

To ensure that faxing operates correctly, start Outlook before faxing. To assure that Outlook is running, place it in the Startup folder.

For more information about placing Outlook in the Startup folder, click Microsoft Outlook Help on the Help menu, type startup in the Office Assistant or the Answer Wizard, and then click Search to view the topic.

In the Choose a topic list, click Automatically start Outlook when you turn on your computer.

If Outlook Is Only Used for Faxing

If Outlook is only used for faxing, you may want to remove it and use the Fax Wizard or another Office program to send faxes.

NOTE: After removing Outlook, you must reinstall Windows Messaging and Microsoft Fax. For more information on how to do this, see the "References" section.

REFERENCES

For additional information about installing Windows Messaging and Microsoft Fax, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

196624 OL2000: (CW) Windows Messaging and Microsoft Fax with Windows 98

For additional information about the Fixmapi utility, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

228457 Fixmapi.exe Tool Included with Internet Explorer 5