Q: After I upgraded my HP Pavilion g7 laptop from Windows 8 to Windows 10, the Wi-Fi quit working.

When I pressed the F12 key that formerly toggled the Wi-Fi on and off, the on-screen menu showed only airplane mode was available, not Wi-Fi. In addition, Wi-Fi is no longer listed in my PC’s Network and Sharing Center menu.

I made sure that the PC’s Wi-Fi driver software was up to date, and tried some suggested fixes from online forums, but nothing worked. What can I do?

Robert Shearer, Lakeland, Minn.

 

A: Losing Wi-Fi connectivity has been a frequent side effect of upgrading a PC to Windows 10.

The most likely cause is that neither HP nor Microsoft has provided you with the correct Windows 10 software driver for your PC’s Wi-Fi device, called a network adapter.

To correct that, download a Windows 10 software driver from Realtek Semiconductor Corp., the manufacturer of the network adapter. Go to tinyurl.com/hmjdmug and scroll down to the headline “Drivers of HP Pavilion Which Are Not Supported Officially by HP for Windows 10.” Below that is a list that contains your PC model. Underneath the list, click the word “download” next to “Realtek RTL8188CE 802.11b/g/n Wireless LAN Driver.” Double-click the downloaded file to install the software for your Wi-Fi adapter.

HP suggests other solutions, such as resetting your wireless modem by unplugging it, or letting Windows “reinstall” the PC’s Wi-Fi network adapter driver software. HP also offers troubleshooting software to identify your PC’s problem. See tinyurl.com/oug36oa.

If none of those fixes work, your PC’s internal Wi-Fi network adapter may have failed. If so, you can replace it with a $10 to $30 external adapter. These devices, which are often no bigger than a flash drive, fit into one of your PC’s USB ports. For some examples, see tinyurl.com/jabufac.

 

Q: My wife and I own a small vacation rental business, and I send an e-mail to each new guest who’s interested in renting a particular property. Later, when another person wants to rent the same property, I call up the original e-mail, make changes to personalize it, then forward it to the new customer.

My problem is that Outlook.com’s “sent” mail doesn’t show all these e-mails separately, as I’d prefer. Instead, it shows just one e-mail, which I have to click on to see all the people that I’ve sent it to over time. How can I fix this?

Dave Nielsen, Bedford, N.H.

 

A: The problem is that you’ve literally sent all of these people the same e-mail file, even though you sent it at different times and with an altered message and recipient address. To the Outlook.com software, it looks as if you’ve sent a group e-mail to all your prospective customers at once.

The solution is keep a “sent” e-mail containing your standard rental message. Each time you contact a new client, copy and paste that standard message into a newly created e-mail, then customize the wording and recipient address for your latest client. Outlook.com’s “sent” folder will then show that you sent a separate e-mail to each client.

E-mail tech questions to steve.j.alexander@gmail.com. Include name, city and telephone number.