Q The photo program on my PC worked OK until I had a friend replace my 30-gigabyte hard disk with a 90-gigabyte disk. My friend partitioned the disk into two parts, which show up separately on the PC as the C and D disks, then reloaded my programs, some on each.

But when I click on the old icon for my photo program, I get an error message that says "the specified path does not exist." I moved the photo program files from D to C, but got the same error message. What can I do?

TU TRAN, NEW BRIGHTON

A Your PC shortcut to the photo program is the problem.

The shortcut is still looking for the program on the C portion of the disk, even though your friend apparently reinstalled the program on the D portion, which gives the program a different "address" than it had before. There are two possible solutions.

You can reinstall the photo program on the C portion of the hard disk, using your original disk or download file. (Just copying the program files from the D to C segments of the disk won't work because there are hidden parts of the program that aren't copied.)

Or you can create a new shortcut icon that will redirect the PC to the photo program's new address on the D portion of the drive. Find your D drive in Windows Explorer, click on the icon to display the contents, then click on the folder marked "program files."

Click on the photo program's file folder. Among the files inside, look for the one that ends in ".exe" (an executable, or program, file) Right-click the file, choose "create shortcut" from the menu and drag the new shortcut icon to your PC's desktop screen. For more options, see tinyurl.com/nmkf6l.

Q The battery for my five-year-old HP Pavilion dv4000 laptop wasn't holding a charge, so I purchased a new one. But the PC won't charge the new battery. HP suggested a list of options -- from battery conditioning (fully charging the battery, then fully discharging it) to upgrading the BIOS (basic input-output system software located on the main circuit board, or motherboard) -- but nothing worked. A PC repair firm said the motherboard may be bad. What should I do?

DAVID REYNOLDS, NEW HOPE

A The problem might not be the battery or the motherboard, but rather the power cord (the wall outlet cord plus its transformer.)

Ask a repair shop to test your power cord, or borrow a cord from a friend with a similar HP laptop and see if that solves your problem. A power cord costs about $10 online. See tinyurl.com/27k53fu.

If the PC's motherboard is bad, you can replace it for about $60. See tinyurl.com/2b2ra3r. But consider buying a new PC before replacing a five-year-old motherboard.

E-mail tech questions to steve.j.alexander @gmail.com, or write to Tech Q&A, 425 Portland Av. S., Minneapolis, MN 55488-0002. Include name, city and telephone number.