How to fix the Favorites shortcuts in Windows Explorer

I noticed my Favorites shortcuts weren’t showing up like normal in Windows Explorer, and after a little investigation and research, it was a simple fix.

1. Navigate to C:\Users\[user]
2. If there isn’t a “Links” folder, create one
3. Right-click on the “Links” folder and select “Properties”
4. Under the “General” tab, make sure “Read-only” is not checked (if there’s a blue box there that’s also bad)
5. Once you’re sure that the folder is not flagged as read-only, close any Windows Explorer windows you have open and reopen one
6. You should now be able to either right-click “Favorites” in Windows Explorer and click “Restore favorite links” or “Add current location to Favorites”

This worked for me.

My problem was that I mistakenly deleted my “Links” folder from my home folder. I added a new “Links” folder, but it still wasn’t working. That’s when I found that the folder was marked as read-only. Once I removed the read-only flag, it started working perfectly again.