To recover your data (which is converted to shortcuts), just follow these simple steps:
Connect your pen/flash/external drive to your computer.
Go to My Computers and check what drive it is assigned for example F: or G: drive. Lets assume its G: (replace it with correct letter as applicable in your case).
Click on “Start” –>”Run”–> type cmd and hit OK. This will start command prompt.
Enter the following command and hit “Enter”.
attrib -H -R -S /S /D G:\*.*
FAQs
Q: I tried the command but getting this error: attrib-h-r-s cannot be recognized.
A: I bet you missed the spaces attrib -H -R -S /D G:\*.*
Q: If I use the attrib command, will the hard drive get formatted and will all the files and folders be deleted?
A: No, only the files converted to shortcuts will be recovered. Nothing will be deleted.
Q: I had accidently deleted the data on my pen drive. How can I recover that?
A: For that you need data recovery tool. Try these free tools – Recuva, TestDisk, PhotoRec etc.
Q: All files converted to shortcuts and are infected by virus. Should I format my pen drive?
A: If you format the drive, you will loose all the data. Try to recover existing data using the attrib command as written in the post. Also scan the drive with latest antivirus.
Q: My folder name contains spaces for example My ABC. How to run the command?
A: When you run the command, use double quotes around the folder name ie “My ABC”
Hope that Helps
Source:
http://www.technologynext.org/files-on-flashexternalhard-drive-changed-to-shortcuts-how-to-recover/