8. Troubleshooting - Debugging

When troubleshooting problems, it is important to take a look at the logs. See hylafax-log(5F) for specific error message information. It may also be prudent to turn up ServerTracing or SessionTracing in the config file. For SessionTracing, 0xFFF would be the normal debugging value.

The libtiff 3.6.1 release contained a serious flaw with respect to writing CCITT G3 and G4 TIFF (fax) image formats. Unpatched, this version of libtiff cannot be used for fax use.

8.1 Installation Errors

A common question arising during faxsetup is in relation to these messages:

Warning: /bin/vgetty does not exist or is not an executable program!
Warning: /bin/egetty does not exist or is not an executable program!

Simply put, don't worry about them. Both of these programs have to do with data and voice call handling, and for the purposes of faxing, their presence is unnecessary.

8.2 Server Status Errors

If faxstat says, Running and idle but no fax in the send-queue is faxed, then likely:
• faxgetty is not running
• the modem config file is wrong
Thanks to Bernd Proissl for this hint.

If '/usr/local/sbin/hylafax start' results in:

HylaFAX: not started (script disabled by configure).

• Then your system is not likely configured for SysV init scripts such as this hylafax script, and the most straight-forward method of getting hfaxd and faxq running is to start them in an rc.local startup script "manually".

8.3 Faxing Errors

If sendfax errors with "localhost: unknown host", make sure that your /etc/hosts file is configured properly for the loopback. It should have a line like this:

127.0.0.1       localhost       loopback

For the sake of testing for problem workarounds, you may want to try using a different faxmodem or different faxmodem configuration settings. In particular, it can be useful to shift your faxmodem from functioning in Class 2/2.0 to Class 1 or vice-versa. To do this, re-run faxaddmodem.

If you can reproduce an error, it would be a good idea to report it along with a portion of your session log to the hylafax-users mailing list for analysis.

Various problems can occur that may be difficult to troubleshoot if your system uses SELinux and it is not configured properly for HylaFAX use. If you have SELinux enabled and you are troubleshooting, it may be worth testing with SELinux disabled.

8.4 Development & Reporting Bugs - Bugzilla

HylaFAX development is the major topic on the hylafax-devel mailing list. If you're doing any HylaFAX coding, it is suggested that you post proposed patches and explanations of them on the hylafax-devel mailing list for typical development work.

If you are confident that a problem you are experiencing is a HylaFAX bug you may want to report it on the hylafax-users or hylafax-devel mailing list to confirm this. Reveiwing the archives would also be advisable. HylaFAX development and bug control is also handled on the HylaFAX Tracker. You can submit bug reports and patches there.

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