How to Fix File and Folders Turned Into Shortcuts Windows 10? Quickly

Summary: If your folders become shortcuts after copying to an external hard drive, then you should read this post to solve this file and folders turned into shortcuts windows 11, 10, 8 and 7 issues.

The first reason for this error could be a virus or malware attack. Turns source files and folders into unopenable shortcuts. Another scenario describes a situation where you have created a shortcut to a specific folder for quick access and cannot trace the original file. In both cases, you are desperately looking for an answer to your question, namely, how to change the shortcut folder to a regular folder. This article is about the answers you are looking for.

Actually, the users have to face this problem because of the virus. And because of that, the files and folders turned into shortcuts. We know that we have saved our priceless data in the hard drive, pen drive, external/internal hard drive, etc. Files such as important videos, images, spreadsheets, presentations, etc. But when the users tried to access the files, it showed all the files turned into shortcuts. All the folders of MBs and of GBs size turned into Kbs.

If the above query seems familiar to you or you are searching for a solution for how to recover shortcut files on a hard drive, then you are on the right page. In this article, we will discuss the common symptoms of folders becoming shortcut issues and the reasons behind why the files and folders turned into shortcuts. We will resolve how to fix shortcut files in computer problems with the help of manual and automated solutions. Before going to the solution part, let’s discuss common symptoms of this issue:

Symptoms of File and Folders Turned into Shortcuts

1. The user cannot access the folder after becoming a shortcut.
2. Size reductions of all the files and folders are turned into shortcuts like 0 kb, 1kb and 2kb.
3. Sometimes the disk becomes slow.

Why Do Folders and Files Turn into Shortcuts?

When the hard drive file is infected with the Autorun.inf worm, virus or Trojan, it turns your healthy folders into shortcuts. This virus hides the files and folders and makes them inaccessible.

Methods to Fix Folders Turned into Shortcuts Problem

In order to fix the folders and files that become shortcuts on internal or external hard drives, the user can opt for either a manual solution or trusted software. Both methods are explained here in this post. Just read the complete article, and at the end, you will find a reliable solution to resolve the folders tuned to shortcut issues.

1: Show Hidden Files to Fix Files that Become Shortcut Errors

Sometimes an infection turns the files and folders into a hidden state. So switching them to non-hidden mode will make them visible. Follow the below steps to recover folders turned into shortcuts:

1: Select the Start button. Go to Control Panel first. 2:Now click on Appearance and Personalization.
3: Choose File to explore options and then select show hidden files and folders.
4: Select View Tab
5: Go to the advanced settings option and choose show hidden files, folders, and drive. 

Note: This is a hit-and-trial approach, and the chances of recovering data from shortcut files and folders are very low.

2: Fix Folder Become Shortcut Error By Check If Your Files are Overridden

Follow the steps mentioned to learn how to recover shortcut files on the hard drive

1: Press Windows + R to open Run and enter the cmd command then click the Ok button.
2: Now the user has to attrib -h -r -s/ s/ d g:\*.* ( Note: The user can replace the letter G with your drive letter)
3:Click Enter Key and then check your files in your drive are back to normal 

3: Scan Hard Drive via Antivirus to Fix Files Turned to Shortcut Error

We know that the root cause of shortcut files is malware. So we have to remove the malware to convert the shortcut file to the original file. In case the user won’t able to access the pictures and videos, then the user has to opt for the third solution to recover files from the infected virus.

Expert Solution to Fix File and Folders Turned into Shortcuts Windows Issue

If you are unable to recover data with the help of a manual method, then you can prefer SoftwarePro Hard Drive Recovery Software. This software is an ideal solution to the problem of how to fix shortcut files on the computer. By performing just a few steps, the user can restore files from the hard disk.

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It is also able to open my hard drive without formatting in Windows. Moreover, the user interface of this software is so simple that technical and non-technical people can easily resolve the issue of how to recover shortcut files on a hard drive with ease.

Follow the Steps to Recover Folders Turned into Shortcuts

1. Download and Install the software on Windows OS to fix the external hard drive not being formatted.
2. Scan the selected drive to fix external HDD showing used space but empty folders.
3. After scanning, the user can easily preview files and folders. The tool highlighted permanently deleted data.
4. The user can easily extract the folder that is turned into a shortcut.

Time to Conclude

Files and folders turned into shortcuts are a common issue faced by many users. From the above write-up, one can get ideas of how to fix files and folders turned into shortcuts windows 10, 11. We know that the data stored in the hard drive file is very crucial. If folders become shortcuts, then the user won’t be able to access the data on the hard drive. So to resolve this, how to retrieve shortcut files from a computer? We have given the manual as well as the automated solution. In case the user fails to recover folders turned into shortcuts by using the manual approach, then the user can prefer an expert solution to solve this issue.

Common User Questions

Q: Where are the shortcut files stored?

To see the source location of a shortcut file, you can right-click the shortcut and select Open File Location to navigate to the corresponding source file. You can see the specific file path in the address bar of Explorer.

Q: How do I show hidden files?

1. Open File Explorer by pressing the Windows key + E key combination.
2. Click View > Options.
3. On the View tab, select the Show hidden files, folders, and drives checkbox, then click Apply.