Windows 10 - All shortcuts broken

[Billybob]

Hi, I came across this issue just after using DDU.

Every shortcut seems to be broken on my system after using DDU before an NVIDIA GPU install.
Original .exe's seem to work.
Creating a new shortcut in the origin .exe's location: shortcut does not work.
Symptoms started before NVIDIA install. This shortcut does not work also, so new install shortcuts don't work properly?

I had AMD software that would not uninstall - while no GPU installed. So I tried DDU.
I believe I followed all the right steps:
- Safe Mode
- Check every AMD option
- Run and Shutdown

All the shortcuts are still present it seems: appdata, start menu, taskbar icons. But it seems they are all dead links. The taskbar items display error:
"This file does not have an app associated with it for performing this action. Please install an app or, if one is already installed, create an association in the Default Apps Settings page.

Files will launch Explorer, but the shortcuts in explorer are dead and do not error.
HTML files and pdf's launch the browser because of my defaults...

Start menu: everything that launches an app is dead except when it launches system functions: power, settings, Windows store, Windows apps, icons that take you to a Microsoft Edge search/link.

It seems like a dead simple fix, but I cannot find anything on this.

Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance!

[Wagnard]

Hi, I came across this issue just after using DDU.

Every shortcut seems to be broken on my system after using DDU before an NVIDIA GPU install.
Original .exe's seem to work.
Creating a new shortcut in the origin .exe's location: shortcut does not work.
Symptoms started before NVIDIA install. This shortcut does not work also, so new install shortcuts don't work properly?

I had AMD software that would not uninstall - while no GPU installed. So I tried DDU.
I believe I followed all the right steps:
- Safe Mode
- Check every AMD option
- Run and Shutdown

All the shortcuts are still present it seems: appdata, start menu, taskbar icons. But it seems they are all dead links. The taskbar items display error:
"This file does not have an app associated with it for performing this action. Please install an app or, if one is already installed, create an association in the Default Apps Settings page.

Files will launch Explorer, but the shortcuts in explorer are dead and do not error.
HTML files and pdf's launch the browser because of my defaults...

Start menu: everything that launches an app is dead except when it launches system functions: power, settings, Windows store, Windows apps, icons that take you to a Microsoft Edge search/link.

It seems like a dead simple fix, but I cannot find anything on this.

Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance!

First time hearing this.
Can you send me the DDU logs (located within the DDU folder) so I can verify if DDU did something related to this?
Send them at. [email protected]

As a test/workaround, create another user account and see if the issue happen there.
If no issue with the newer account then it mean Windows itself is not damaged and you can simply recreate your normal account.

Thanks

[felixknight]

That sounds more like a broken file association or user profile issue than DDU itself. Did you try rebuilding the icon cache or checking if .lnk associations are intact, and does a new user account work normally?

[MinnieStarnes]

Thanks for sharing your findings. Community feedback like this is extremely valuable because it helps others troubleshoot similar issues and compare results across different systems. It's great to see members working together to find reliable solutions. Continuous learning is important in every area, and practicing with an IELTS Practice Test is a great way to build confidence before an English proficiency exam.

[Breyann Wilkins]

It's fascinating how gaming communities evolve with tools like Wagnardsoft!