Files and Folders turn into shortcuts due to shortcut viruses on your PC, SD, card, USB pen drive, or other storage devices. This will prevent you from accessing the files. Don’t worry we will help you files and folders turned into shortcuts.
Methods to Fix Files and Folders Turned into Shortcuts
Try the following solutions to fix this issue:
Method 1: Check for Hidden Files
The actual files could be hidden by the malware, try unhiding them using the command prompt
- Open the folder where the shortcuts are located.
- Open Command Prompt as Administrator
- Type: attrib -h -r -s /s /d C:*.* (Replace “C:” with your affected drive letter)

This command reveals hidden files and folders. If you don’t see the files and folders as normal go ahead and try the next solution.
Method 2: Use Unhide Hidden Files
Change the File Explorer settings to view the files and folders that are hidden by the shortcut virus:
- Connect the device with the folder turned into shortcut to your PC.
- Open Windows File Explorer and open the USB or hard drive partition with shortcut folders in Windows File Explorer.
- Go to the View tab and uncheck the Hidden items option.

Method 3: Scan for Malware
If you notice your storage device becoming slow or unresponsive, it could be due to a virus infection.
To remove the virus and recover files after a virus attack, install a reliable third-party antivirus or anti-malware tool, or use Windows Security to scan the drive and detect and remove the virus.
If the above solutions don’t work or you don’t see any saved files after accessing and fixing the issue, then you will have to recover the data using a data recovery tool.
How to Recover Data From Shortcut Virus?
You can try freeware such as Windows File Recovery, Recuva, or PhotoRec if you are comfortable using a command-line interface. However, these tools have limited file support, may not recover all file types, and their effectiveness is not guaranteed.
For the best recovery results, try a professional data recovery tool like Remo Recover, which makes data recovery easy and efficient. The tool supports almost all internal and external storage devices and file systems.
With its easy-to-use interface, the tool works in read-only mode to ensure your data’s safety. Additionally, you can preview the files before restoring them.
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Retrieve files from shortcut virus using Remo Recover
Step 1: Download and install Remo Recover Software on your device.
Step 2: Select the drive and click on Scan.

Step 3: The software will start a Quick Scan followed by a thorough Deep Scan.
Once Quickscan is done, click on the Dynamic Recovery View Option to view all the files recovered so far.

Step 4: Double-click to preview any files and click on the Recover option to save them in your preferred location.

Conclusion:
Once after recover data from a shortcut virus, reformat the drive and and use the device. To avoid such issues files and folders turning into shortcut files again ensure you do not use the storage device on any virus-infected computers or mobiles and run antivirus scans regularly.