Files have become folders with the real file and a $Zone.Identifier$$D

I reinstalled windows 10 and not many of the files that I backed up have become folders.

For example: File used to be "index.html". Now this file has become a folder called "index html" with two files in it. The "index.hml" file I'm looking for and a file called "$Zone.Identifier$$DATA"

Why did this happen? What can I do to fix this?

I could fix it by hand but there are thousands of files. IS there a way to make a batch script to handle this?

Thank alot. I'm using Windows 10 Enterprise LTSC 2018 and I just reinstalled from the same version.

I have not touched any group policies.

dominique120 said:

I reinstalled windows 10 and not many of the files that I backed up have become folders.

For example: File used to be "index.html". Now this file has become a folder called "index html" with two files in it. The "index.hml" file I'm looking for and a file called "$Zone.Identifier$$DATA"

Why did this happen?

Have you ever wondered how a file you downloaded from the internet can be marked as 'blocked' for having come from another computer? Or what happens when you unblock such a file?

Unblock File in Windows 10

In ntfs files can have an alternate data stream, date that is not read when you open the file. The Zone Identifier is stored in this alternate data stream and tells the OS whether the file came from another machine.

Mark Russinovich said:

The NTFS file system provides applications the ability to create alternate data streams of information. By default, all data is stored in a file's main unnamed data stream, but by using the syntax 'file:stream', you are able to read and write to alternates. Not all applications are written to access alternate streams, but you can demonstrate streams very simply. First, change to a directory on a NTFS drive from within a command prompt. Next, type 'echo hello > test:stream'. You've just created a stream named 'stream' that is associated with the file 'test'. Note that when you look at the size of test it is reported as 0, and the file looks empty when opened in any text editor. To see your stream enter 'more < test:stream' (the type command doesn't accept stream syntax so you have to use more).

NT does not come with any tools that let you see which NTFS files have streams associated with them, so I've written one myself. Streams will examine the files and directories (note that directories can also have alternate data streams) you specify and inform you of the name and sizes of any named streams it encounters within those files...

https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/sys...nloads/streams

What has happened is that the restore procedure you used has determined that the files to be restored had an alternate data stream with a Zone Identifier in it. The restore has seperated the file's data and its alternate data stream into two separate files.

What can I do to fix this?

It's probably simpler to start over, now that you know the source of these extra files. You don't say what you used to restore the files. For a file to have an alternate data stream it must be stored on an ntfs formatted partition. If the destination is not ntfs then the restore may have separately restored the alternate data. There may be an option for it to discard alternate data streams.

Or it may be as simple as unblocking the source file of your backup.

See my answer to your post on SuperUser:

windows - My files have become folders with the actual file and a "$Zone.Identifier$$DATA" file in them - Super User