HP Pavilion Elite e9260f Desktop PC and windows 10

[applejack1]

I downloaded Windows 10, and now my computer does not recognize wifi networks (this is not an internet issue, as all other devices with wifi work in this area of the house, and I also spoke with my internet provider to confirm). I spent 2 hours on the phone with Microsoft yesterday. They were extremely unhelpful but suggested that I should not have updated to Windows 10 because my computer "cannot handle" Windows 10 (I have not found any information to confirm this is true). The computer works fine except for this one issue on Windows 10. Does anyone know how to resolve the problem? Only advice Microsoft gave was to download Windows 7 - however, I cannot revert back because (1) it has been longer than 10 days and (2) Microsoft is ending support for Windows 7 in January. Please help!!

[Paul_Tikkanen]

Hi:

Your computer should be able to run W10 just fine.

The wifi issue can be resolved by purchasing an external USB wifi adapter that works with W10.

The internal adapter probably is too old and incompatible with W10.

According to the product specs page is it one of those PCI express adapters.

https://support.hp.com/us-en/document/c01892903/

But before you run out and buy an external wifi adapter, let's see if we can get the internal one to work.

Go to the device manager, click to expand the Network adapters device manager category.

Is the wifi adapter listed there, or is there an Other Devices category in the device manager with a Network Controller device listed there?

If there is a Network Controller device listed in the device manager, please post the hardware ID for it, so I can figure out who makes it.

Use this guide for how to find the hardware ID for a device...

https://www.howtogeek.com/193798/how-to-find-drivers-for-unknown-devices-in-the-device-manager/

[applejack1]

Thanks for the fast reply! I only now just saw it....there is no wifi adapter listed nor network controller device, so it looks like I will have to buy an external USB wifi adapter. Do you happen to know which one I should buy that will be compatible for my hp model? Unfortunately the link that you shared only redirects towards the general product specifications (or maybe it is listed on this page but I cannot find it). Thank you!

[Paul_Tikkanen · Accepted solution]

You're very welcome.

I did not provide any recommendations for an external USB wifi adapter.

What you buy all depends on what you are willing to spend and what your needs are.

The USB wifi adapters I use on my PC's are old and you may not be able to get them new anymore.

I like them a lot.

https://www.amazon.com/Linksys-Dual-Band-Wireless-N-Adapter-AE3000/dp/B007ZLGXA8/ref=sr_1_3?hvadid=7...

If you have an AC wifi router, you may want to buy an AC wifi adapter...

https://www.amazon.com/Adapter-1200Mbps-TECHKEY-Wireless-Network-300Mbps/dp/B07J65G9DD/ref=sr_1_3?cr...

There is just a ton of different USB wifi adapters out there to choose from in all different price ranges...

https://www.amazon.com/s?k=usb+wifi+adapter&crid=2K76RU63EXUFK&sprefix=USB+wifi+adapt%2Caps%2C182&re...