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efax attack, cannot fax .tiff files, SUSE 10.2

I've just installed efax, and I can't fax .tiff files with efax. I'm using the KDE printfax front-end, and getting nowhere. I seem to have Ghostscript installed (insofar as I interpret what Yast software management reads out, regarding already installed components on my system).
This situation seems to condemn my use of linux even more forcefully. I can't be dual-booting back to Windows XP for every office utility (sending and receiving .tiff faxes under any version of MS Windows I have used is a no-brainer in comparison). Faxing isn't the only problem, as I can't use my Microtek Scanmaker 4600 with Linux, either.
Anyway, here is the error message I get (in the kdeprintfax log) when I try to fax the .tiff (I replaced my real phone-numbers with 9's, and my usernames with deekbeek, which maintains confidentiality):

Code:

Converting input files to Postscript





Sending fax to 999-9999 ()



Sending to fax using: /usr/local/bin/fax NAME="'deekbeek'" DEV='ttyS1' PAGE='letter' FROM='999-999-9999' send  '9999999' '/windows/C/Data/wd/example_fax.tiff' 

/windows/C/Data/wd/example_fax.tiff is an image file...

/usr/local/bin/efix: Thu Jul 19 09:52:33 2007 Error: can't read multi-strip TIFF files

/usr/local/bin/efix: 52:33 Error: missing offset to TIFF data

can't read file /windows/C/Data/wd/example_fax.tiff.001

Quote:

Error: can't read multi-strip TIFF files

Convert to single-strip and then try?

I don't know what single-strip is, also, my distro is 10.1 (my mistake).

Since yesterday, I've taken the .tiff file and run it through GIMP, and made sure it was flattened and has 1-bit b&w. There's no reference to "single-strip" though, so I'm stymied.
I blundered and typed my SUSE Linux is 10.2, which it isn't; it's 10.1. My afternoon brain-death.
I actually got mgetty (with KDE printfax frontend, and logged in as root) to send a header, but it wouldn't send the (unmodified from yesterday) .tiff file.
I've also looked for a portable bitmap (pbm) format. I wonder if that is the same as Windows bmp?

There's no reference to "single-strip" though, so I'm stymied.
Me too. http://c42pdf.ffii.org/docs/scanned.html says:

Code:

tifftopnm sample.tif > sample.pbm

pnmtotiff -g4 -rowsperstrip 100000 sample.pbm > sample.tif

Maybe try that.

I blundered and typed my SUSE Linux is 10.2, which it isn't; it's 10.1.
Good to correct it, but I wouldn't think it would matter much in this particular case.

I've also looked for a portable bitmap (pbm) format. I wonder if that is the same as Windows bmp?
They're both bitmap image files but I think that's where the similarities end. Could be wrong though, the images I work with are forensic images :-]

I'm a sad excuse for a linux desktop user

I did not see the easy way through this maze, because I forgot that a default Linux setup root protects a lot of services. Since by default mgetty runs as root, what I had to do was type [alt]+[F2] and then type:

Code:

kdesu gwenview

In gwenview, I just opened my .tiff file (which had owner deekbeek, group user permissions; not root permissions). I printed it with the to fax option. I accepted the dialog box option to shrink it to fit the page, and KdeprintFax automatically popped open with the correctly formatted .tif fax already listed in the upper files scroller; ready to take the fax number. I could then go to /var/spool/fax/outgoing/F000008 and view the ready-to-send .tif fax with KFax (an mgetty header line gets pwanged right in, which I still have to configure).
I have the good fortune of having a Windows XP home system, on a different phone number, upstairs in the house. The fax sent, and both my Linux system and the other Windows XP system logged errors (the Windows system error dialog claimed not all pages were sent). This was strange because the sent fax LOOKED PERFECT. My linux system logged this in faxrunq (with phone and username disguises applied):

Code:

 

deekbeek@linux-aaga:~> su root

Password:

linux-aaga:/home/deekbeek # faxrunq

processing F000008/JOB...

/usr/sbin/sendfax -v 9999999 f1.g3

Trying fax device '/dev/ttyS1'... OK.

Dialing 9999999... OK.

sending 'f1.g3'...



/usr/sbin/sendfax: FAILED to transmit 'f1.g3'.

Transmission error: +FHNG:-5 (Unexpected hangup / read() error / write() error (int.))

command exited with status 12

linux-aaga:/home/deekbeek #

Since the received fax looked perfect, I am puzzled by the errors. If I hadn't been able to see the received fax (which is the norm), I would have to consider it failed.
Incidentally, don't ever think that those RCA wireless modem jacks will work; the Windows XP fax receiving machine was on those. I had to replace them with a straight-through phone cord for faxing to work. I am using U.S. Robotics Performance Pro 56k modems.