Windows Hard Link <VERIFIED - 2024>

Here are some important characteristics of hard links:

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. windows hard link

Every normal file you create is actually a hard link already—it's just that there's only one link to that data. When you create a second hard link, you're telling Windows: "This data should also appear at this other path." Here are some important characteristics of hard links:

A hard link is an additional directory entry that points directly to the same underlying file data on disk. windows hard link

To truly understand hard links, you must contrast them with what Windows offers by default.