How To Fix Folders That Have Become Shortcuts In The External Hard Drive

Written By Isha Rikhi
Approved By Rohit Arora
Updated on 30 Nov, 2022
Min Reading 4 Min
Share

Table of Content

Summary: If your folders become shortcuts after copying to external hard drive then you should read this post to fix this issue.

Free Download100% secure

100% Clean Softpedia guarantees that Stellar Data Recovery is 100% Clean

Picture a condition. You usually save your priceless memories such as videos or photos and business critical data like Spreadsheets, Presentation, or Word Document on the flash drive in separate folders. You follow this practice to access them from anywhere and at any instant of time. However, today, when you attempted to access them on another system, it shows all files as shortcuts. You tried to access the same from your laptop yet you still see your MBs or GBs files into KBs. These files are very important to you. Now, the only query you may have in your mind is how you can fix the folders that have turned into shortcuts.

Before wondering how to fix folders that have become shortcuts, let us have a quick overview of its causes.

How Does Folder Turn to a Shortcut?

Autorun.inf worm and Virus or Trojan turns your healthy folders into a shortcut. It happens when you connect your properly working removable storage device with an infected system. Generally, it makes them hidden.

How to Fix A Folder that has Become a Shortcut?

Solution 1: Unhide

As already stated, sometimes an infection turns the files or folders into a hidden state. Thereby, switching them to a non-hidden mode will make them visible. Steps are as follows:

Click My Computers
Click View Tab
Checkmark Show Hidden Items option

The above is a hit & trial approach and chances to regain inaccessible data from it is very less.

Solution 2: Anti-virus Scan Program

As the root cause of Shortcut creation is malware, thus removing them can help in resolving the issue. For this, you need to run anti-malware or antivirus into the Full Scan mode and remove the malware or virus to access the files or folders.

Steps are as follows:

Click and Open Anti-virus or Anti-malware Program
Click Scan and practice Full Scan
Click Ok
Next, attempt to access Folders

Limitation: Since virus alters the names of files, therefore, attempts to access files after virus removal is a bit tedious.

Solution 3: CMD Command

Another way to recover the shortcut files.

Steps are as follows:

Go to Start
Click on Run
Type cmd
Select your device (Memory Card, Pen Drive, etc.)
Type del *.lnk
Type attrib -h -r -s /s /d Drive Letter:*.*
Hit Enter

Limitation: Flash Drives should not be formatted unless you have basic technical knowledge

Since all the above solutions are manual methods, chances of entire recovery are less and that of further aggravation is more. Therefore, resorting to software approach is ideal as it will not only help you in recovering the data entirely but also promises Data Integrity.

Which software should you opt for?

Below is a recommendation on the basis of expert analysis of professionals—Stellar Data Recovery- Standard. This tried, tested, and approved software is an ideal solution to bid goodbye to your Data loss, Deletion, or Inaccessibility issues.

How Does Stellar Data Recovery- Standard Help in Recovering Data?

The overall functioning of this software is sub-divided into three steps —Select, Scan, and Recover. Once you are through with Download, Install, and Registration, simply launches the software and follow the below-stated steps to recover your lost or deleted data.

Step 1: Selection

In this step, you have to select the type of data from the available options to recover followed by the location from where recovery is to be made. ( In this case, you need to select the Folders)

Data Type Selection

Location Selection

Step 2: Scan & Preview

In this step, you need to scan the storage unit for desired data recovery. On successful completion of the scan, you simply have to select the specific file and Preview them.

Scanning Progress

Preview Recoverable Files

Step 3: Recover

In this step, you have to check mark the desired files for recovery and save them by specifying the user-defined location followed by clicking on Start Saving.

The Recovery Process is Complete!

Note: Make sure to format the system to remove all the virus.

The Final Word

You are now familiar with how to recover files or folders infected by a virus and turns into a shortcut in the external hard drive. Depending on your requirements, you can choose any of the specific solution stated above and recover your lost data.

However, if a recommendation is to be made, then opting for a third-party solution such as Stellar Data Recovery- Standard is a sure-shot solution. The reason being, this Do-It-Yourself solution is completely safe, secure & reliable.

Was this article helpful?

YES0

About The Author

Isha Rikhi

Isha is a technical blogger and data recovery expert. She has experience in Windows data recovery. She writes about technical tips and tutorials.

25 comments

Martie says:

May 18, 2020 at 1:02 pm

Hi, There my F drive keeps on making all my files shortcuts? How do I fix the drive?

Reply
1. Isha Rikhi says:
  
  November 26, 2020 at 9:24 am
  
  Hello Marite, Kindly try solution no. 3 described in this blog and apply the commands same. It will help you to fix the files and remove the shortcut in your specific drive. Thanks
  
  Reply
Gregory says:

January 15, 2020 at 6:15 pm

Please can I get the activation key

Reply
1. Satyeshu Kumar says:
  
  January 22, 2020 at 12:01 pm
  
  Hello,
  You can get an activation key when you will click on the activation option left top on the software window. It will redirect you to our official site. Where you can buy it. Another way to get an activation key is to contact our technical support team via mail or phone.
  Contact Details: Email ID: support[at]stellarinfo.com
  Phone: +1-877-778-6087
  
  Reply
Edward Zacarias says:

November 13, 2019 at 7:00 pm

do you have an activation key for stellar>

Reply
1. Satyeshu Kumar says:
  
  November 15, 2019 at 11:56 am
  
  Hello Edward,
  It you need activation key so you can click on the Activation option right top on the software window. It will redirect you to our official site. Where you can purchase it. Or you can contact our technical support team via mail or phone.
  Contact Details: Email ID: support[at]stellarinfo.com
  Phone: +1-877-778-6087
  
  Reply
Deny Lion says:

September 5, 2019 at 1:37 am

Hey Author,
For the first attempt, I have not got the result…But finally, for the second attempt, It works… Thank you So much.

Reply
1. Aruna Attri says:
  
  September 9, 2019 at 3:40 am
  
  Hi Deny,
  It’s our pleasure to serve you better. Thanks
  
  Reply
Shoaib Ur Rehman says:

September 2, 2019 at 7:30 pm

hey, i think my hard drive has gone into some problem.. whenever i try to copy a file from it computer crashes or it says that the file cant be read or written.. laptop freezes sometimes when i attach the hard drive. i really need those files to work.. idk what has to be done.. the data is around 600 gb. Can i format the drive and recover all 600 gb through stellar? or if u have any other suggestions please let me know. its very urgent please

Reply
1. Aruna Attri says:
  
  September 9, 2019 at 4:02 am
  
  Hello Shoaib,
  Moving files from drive to drive or computer to computer is a common task. The common reason is a mismatch in the file systems on the different drives or devices. Other reasons for this error include corrupt disk sectors and file permission problems. So you can try the manual steps in case of copy file from one drive to another as follows:
  
  1. Select the hard drive you are trying to copy from.
  2. Right-click and select properties.
  3. Identify the file system.
  4. Repeat for the destination disk.
  If both file systems are NTFS, move on to the next fix. If one disk is FAT32, read on. Some time bad sectors and file location change may also responsible for that.
  If it does not fix your problem so you can try Stellar Data recovery. It recovers all data efficiently. It is easy to use and recover. Thanks
  
  Reply
Jude says:

July 26, 2019 at 8:45 am

Hello Isha,
I already deleted the .link folder but still have a folder saved as “$RECYCLE.BIN”

what can I do because the cmd process did not find the .lnk

Reply
1. Aruna Attri says:
  
  July 31, 2019 at 4:52 am
  
  Hi Jude,
  We recommend you to use the application Stellar Data Recovery Professional. You may use the option ‘can’t find drive’ to search for the lost volume. Thanks
  
  Reply
Genevieve Wood says:

January 4, 2019 at 12:43 pm

Thanks for the amazing writing author, while I want to know is there any chance of complete folder recovery which was deleted recently?

Further I immediately stop working on that drive.

Reply
1. Aruna Attri says:
  
  January 7, 2019 at 3:50 am
  
  We have some good news for you Genevieve, the recovery is possible using #1 windows data recovery Stellar program.
  
  Reply
Mudassir Alloo says:

November 9, 2018 at 8:01 am

The command prompt option worked like a charm.
You are a genius!
Thank you so much

Reply
1. Isha Rikhi says:
  
  November 21, 2018 at 3:16 am
  
  Thanks, Mudassir for trying our recommended methods.
  
  Reply
Abhinav says:

August 11, 2018 at 10:09 am

My query is
Will virus also be recovered from infected hard drive after data recovery? and will it be copied into the system in which data has been recovered? Will My laptop be infected?
Regards

Reply
1. Isha Rikhi says:
  
  August 13, 2018 at 9:16 am
  
  Hello Abhinav,
  
  The Stellar Data Recovery application does not recover any kind of Virus, Ransomware etc. It is completely safe to use software for an infected hard drive. Also, the application can only recover the data it cannot decrypt or sanitize the drive.
  
  Reply
Carl Berger says:

April 19, 2018 at 11:26 am

Hey Isha,

Thanks for this great tip. The manual as well recommended software looks great. I definitely share with with friends and colleagues.

Reply
1. Isha Rikhi says:
  
  April 19, 2018 at 12:06 pm
  
  Hello Carl,
  
  Thanks for the feedback.
  
  Reply