Normally Shortcut icons have an arrow graphic superimposed over them. Hiding the arrow graphic allows the icon image to appear completely unobscured.
Hide Arrow on Shortcuts to Windows Applications
Hide Arrow on Shortcuts to DOS Applications
To hide or restore the arrow graphic:
Check or uncheck one or both of the Hide Arrow checkboxes.
Click Restart to restart Windows.
With the arrow graphic hidden, you may not know which icons are files and which are Shortcuts pointing to files. Be careful when moving or deleting files and folders. To determine an icon's type, right-click it and choose Properties from the context menu.