TechMate TipsHow to Fix broken shortcuts being deleted from Desktop
I was working with a business we service to troubleshoot a weird problem they were having where shortcuts to a program were being deleted on a laptop every time they took it out of their office. I was skeptical at first but after installing the database network program, they called the next day and the shortcut was invalid. The program they use is a Sybase Database software that builds floor plans (QFloors). They have a server and the Share from the server is mapped as N:\. When I looked over the machine the next day after the shortcut was broken, the shortcut was pointing to C:\APPDATA\qfloors.exe. It was supposed to be N:\Qfloors.exe. Come to find out, in Windows Vista and Windows 7, they have a built in utility that automatically scans and removes broken shortcuts off the desktop. Quite annoying when you have a mobile laptop that goes in and out of a network. For Vista, there is no way to shut this off that I can find. I ended up having to use a UNC path (Ex. \\192.168.1.200\QFloors\QFloors.exe). Using that I haven’t had a problem since it assumes it a network connection that may not be connected and not a possible “missing” drive. Windows 7 on the other hand, Microsoft finally made a Fix It for the numerous complaints. You can go here to download it http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2642357.
Hope this helps anyone else before they waste time pouring over the internet.
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