| Aspect | Details | |--------|---------| | | NTFS (not FAT32, exFAT, ReFS without special settings) | | Same volume only | Cannot span across different drives/partitions | | Can’t link directories | Windows does not allow hard links to directories (only files) | | No cross‑network links | SMB supports limited hard links, but locally only on same volume | | File must exist | You cannot create a hard link to a non‑existent file | | Deletion behavior | Deleting one link doesn’t delete the file until the last link is removed | | Permissions | All hard links share the same security descriptor (ACLs) |
Or use PowerShell:
mklink /H "LinkName" "TargetFile"