A hard link doesn't point to a path —it points directly to the raw data on disk. That data has no location except "wherever Windows put it." Junction points are volume-mounted directory links (only for folders, only local drives). They behave like symlinks for folders but have fewer features. Hard links don't work on folders at all in Windows (NTFS supports them, but Windows restricts creation for safety). Creating Hard Links on Windows Windows provides two built-in ways: mklink (Command Prompt) and New-Item (PowerShell). Using Command Prompt (Run as Administrator for some operations, but not strictly required for files) mklink /H LinkName TargetFile Example:
The problem arises when someone else later sees backup.txt , assumes it's a copy, and deletes it—wiping the only remaining link to that data.
This isn't a shortcut, and it's not a copy. It's something far more powerful—and far more confusing if you don't understand how it works. windows hard link
fsutil hardlink list "file.txt" Or with PowerShell:
ni link.txt -ItemType HardLink -Target original.txt To confirm you've created a hard link (and not a copy or symlink), check the link count : A hard link doesn't point to a path
You can view the link count using:
echo Important > doc.txt mklink /H backup.txt doc.txt del doc.txt Many users think backup.txt now contains the original data. It does! But they also think doc.txt is gone forever. That's correct. What they realize: backup.txt is the original data now. Deleting doc.txt only removed one name. Hard links don't work on folders at all
In this guide, you'll learn exactly what hard links are, how to create them, when to use them, and the critical pitfalls to avoid. A hard link is an additional directory entry that points directly to the same underlying file data on disk.