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I copied my files to pen drive from my laptop and then tried to transfer them to my Desktop.

But in my desktop it is showing the shortcuts to the original files. I'm able to access the files but cannot retrieve the original file as it is.

I figured out a way to get my job done. But I need to know why this problem arises.

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    Did you coped only shortcuts or actual files (.I'm able to access the files but cannot retrieve the original file as it is - I dont get this. See how big they are, if they are 1kb you have copied only shortcuts). How far are those computers from eachother? Can you connect them some how, or if it is a larger amount of data connect HDD from one computer to other? Dec 16, 2014 at 13:29
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    Your question is not very clear, that is one reason why it is being downvoted. You could help your question out by editing it, to provide more information and be clearer about what your seeing, and what has happened.
    – Psycogeek
    Dec 16, 2014 at 13:38
  • If you figured out how to get the job done, is the problem really persisting? More clarification would be warranted to get an answer and less/no down-votes.
    – Andrew
    Dec 16, 2014 at 14:06

2 Answers 2

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I need to know why this problem arises.

Depending on how exactly you perform the copy operation, Windows will either copy the files, move them or create shortcuts pointing to the originals.

If you accidentally create shortcuts that point to files on a USB drive and then remove that USB drive. The desktop files will appear OK but you will not be able to access the files on the removed USB drive that the shortcuts point to.

So, pay attention to exactly how you perform the copy.

In Windows 8.1 and Windows RT 8.1, you can pin Windows Store apps and desktop applications to the taskbar for quick access. You can also create shortcuts on the desktop for the desktop applications, folders and files you often use.

enter image description here

... which may not be what you intended but can happen if you are not careful

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  • The problem isn't that.Actually the of led are transfered to the pen drive which I confirmed from the occupied space in it.These shortcuts point to some ".exe" files which in turn opening the files saved on the pendrive
    – dmrche
    Dec 17, 2014 at 9:50
  • @seshagiri96: 1) what do you mean by "the of led" and 2) which shortcuts? the ones on your desktop? (the ones in the example image above are just an example, the principle applies equally to data files) Dec 17, 2014 at 9:56
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you probably got the recycle bin/trash included if you tried copying the entire desktop. I have no idea why because it doesnt really make any sense, but if I sweep out to select the entire desktop and try to copy to another folder that new folder will contain everything as a shortcut and not the actual file. If you remove the trash/recycle folder from the selection you can copy/paste everything as you would expect and the files will transfer now.

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