Why are my desktop shortcuts not working but folder icons working ok

Hello Bomar, I am Henry and I want to help you with this issue.

Knowing that the shortcuts work correctly from inside the Desktop folder but not on the desktop itself is a key detail. It tells us the shortcuts themselves are not broken, but the problem is likely with how the Windows desktop is displaying or interacting with them.

Before we try a solution, could you please clarify a few things?

1. Have you already tried restarting the computer or restart just the Windows Explorer process at Task Manager?
2. Does this problem affect all the shortcuts on your desktop, or only specific ones?
3. When did this issue begin? Did it happen right after a Windows update or after installing a new program?
4. If you right-click on one of the non-working shortcuts on your desktop, does a menu appear, or does nothing happen?

While I await your response, you can try to force Windows to rebuild the Icon Cache.

1. Open the Command Prompt as an administrator
2. Copy and paste the following commands into the black command window one at a time, pressing Enter after each one.

• taskkill /IM explorer.exe /F (This command temporarily shuts down the Windows desktop and taskbar.)
• DEL /A /Q "%localappdata%\IconCache.db" (This deletes the old, possibly corrupted, icon cache file.)
• start explorer.exe (This restarts the Windows desktop. Your screen may flash and icons will reappear.)

After the desktop reappears, please check if your shortcuts are working again.

I hope this guide gives you the confidence to proceed.