Keef, could you not do a simple settings & data image & put that on after building? I'm sure that True image allows for that - a bit like a thousand mouse clicks in one go, if you will.

Er ... dunno. I didn't "build" my Win 7, I just installed it off the DVD. It "just worked", once it had downloaded all the extra drivers it needed.

... apart from Windows Fax & Scan. I open Fax & Scan, tell it to scan, and it says "You ain't not got no scanner, Mister." Oh yes I piggin' have!

I can import pictures, so scanning the document first and saving as a JPEG works fine.

But then Fax & Scan can't read my Outlook address book, where all the fax numbers etc live, so it's all a bit of a mess, really. I'd have to open Outlook, find the person, copy and paste the fax number, and ...

I've not got as far as trying to see if it then finds the Faxmodem. Life's too short!

I've got this prehistoric bit of software called WinFax that I bought last century.

Managed fax service

(cheaper than a dedicated fax line and fax software)

There's no dedicated fax line here. The prehistoric faxmodem is connected to the POTS line. The software is prehistoric WinFax (these days it's owned by Symantec, but I don't think it was, back then). It all works flawlessly, as it has done for many years. It costs 0p a month, and a few pence when I send a fax.

Windows 7 comes with a bit of kit called "Windows Fax and Scan" which is supposed to be able to scan a document and then fax it. It doesn't work. It alone, of all the software connected to the PC, can't see the scanner. It insists, firmly and irrevocably, that there isn't one.

So I scan the document with Paint Shop Pro 5 (far quicker than the latest, very clever but very bloated Paint Shop Pro 12), save the JPEG, and then use WinFax to open and fax the JPEG.

About once or twice a year I need to do that. I'm happy with the process, but disappointed that Microsoft couldn't get Fax and Scan to work. I have "raised a ticket" but they seem uninterested. Status quo ante.

I've mentioned before that I've had problems with faxing. After years of not wanting to send a fax, I threw my son's castoff into the trash. Murphy's law cut in, and everyone and their uncle wanted, nay, insisted, that I fax them. Sony, with 'proof of purchase' requirements, not even allowing me to mail them! You have no idea how hard I argued this point.

I have sent a fax with W7, but it was just chance. I have never been able to repeat the process. Unlike Keef, I can get the scan in, but never build the .jpg into the page I'm sending. Also, unlike Keef, I have not been able to get my WinFax Pro to work reliably. For years. Sad, cos the little WinFax that preceded it, worked perfectly.

I need a fax program that will allow me to put pauses in when dialing. Right now, I have to get the soft to dial the phone company, wait while the verbiage is gone through, and then quickly auto-dial on the office phone, Now, I can't even do that, because with W7, the dialing tones are not sent to the sound system or computer speaker. Can't find anything to turn them on.

The software I used to run accepted commas as a pause instruction.

Multiple commas if required.

The WinFax I use has comma=pause (I forget how long, cos I don't need it). Multiple commas does the obvious.

Another possible prob; I have tried several times today to burn a disc image using windows burn image & it has read the file as corrupt. It's done this with three different types of the same kind, but not the same file.

I'm going to tey it on xp tomorrow & see how I go, but this is holding up a big-ish project. Grrr.

I've burned several CDs and DVDs using Win7, both .iso straight to DVD, and "conventional". No problems.

I treated the DVDRW drive as if it were another hard drive - copied stuff to it, then when done clicked "Burn". It worked!

Thanks Keef. When I was writing the question, I had a terrible feeling of deja vous. The answer gave the same feeling. Oh, dear...one will soon have to be put down.

<<< this helps.

Deja vu = already seen
Deja vous = already you

...incidentally, why would you want to burn a CD nowadays? I very rarely burn CDs or DVDs now (the only reason I see to do it these days is to install an OS), as things like Daemon-Tools and USB hard drives make CDs/DVDs fairly much redundant.

(it's a shame Microsoft didn't include a native ISO mounter in W7)

Two things:
I'm reluctant to have a phone (fax) line connected directly to my PC in case of inadvertent (or malware engendered) dialling.
I still burn DVDs for distribution or additional (belt & braces) backup.

Still does it even on hibernate

And, of course,

Déjà moo = we've seen this BS before.

Deja poo: already been, thank you.