The error message "Encountered 7 file(s) that should have been pointers, but weren't" in Git typically indicates a problem with the Git repository's object database. This error message can occur when Git detects that some of the files in the object database that should be symbolic links are not.

Here are a few steps you can take to fix this error:

1. Verify the integrity of the Git repository using the git fsck command:

git fsck --full

This command will check the Git object database for any inconsistencies or corruption.

2. If the git fsck command finds any issues, use the git prune command to remove any objects that are no longer referenced in the repository:

git prune

3. If the problem persists, try cloning the repository again from a remote copy or a backup.

4. If none of the above steps work, it may be necessary to manually restore the missing symbolic links by copying them from another copy of the repository or from a backup.

Note that if you're not sure what caused this error or if the repository is critical to your work, it's always a good idea to back up your repository before attempting any fixes.

If you want to discard changes to your working directory and switch to another branch, but cannot use git stash because it's hanging indefinitely, you have a few options:

1. Force switch to another branch using git checkout command:

git checkout -f other_branch

The -f or --force option discards any local changes in your working directory and switches to other_branch. Note that any changes that have not been committed will be lost.

2. Commit your changes and switch to another branch: If you have made changes to your working directory that you want to keep, you can commit them and then switch to another branch:

git add .
git commit -m "Commit message"
git checkout other_branch

3. Discard changes to specific files: If you only want to discard changes to specific files in your working directory, you can use the git checkout command with the -- option and the path to the file:

git checkout -- path/to/file

This will discard changes to the file and restore it to the state it was in the last commit.

Note that in all these cases, any changes that have not been committed will be lost. So make sure you have saved any changes that you want to keep before running any of these commands.