If you have no problem viewing your files in the Google Drive web app but find them missing while syncing them to your PC locally via the Google Drive Backup and Sync client, you must check your sync preferences and ensure that everything’s set up correctly. To get to it, open the Chrome menu and select Settings > Advanced > Reset and clean up > Clean up computer > Find. If you use Chrome on the PC, you can use the browser’s integrated malware scanner to remove them. Malicious extensions can also result in all sorts of issues.

Then, re-activate them one by one until you come across the extension causing issues. You can do that by selecting the Extensions icon to the top-right of the window, followed by Manage extension. If Google Drive displays everything correctly, open a regular Chrome window and disable all extensions. If they don’t, you might want to delete the entire browser cache before trying again. Then, reload Google Drive and check if the missing files show up. To do that, select the padlock-shaped View site information icon on the address bar and select Site Settings. You can delete the cache related to Google Drive and check if that helps. That usually happens due to obsolete site data. Sometimes, the Google Drive web app can simply bug out and stop displaying files and folders inside it correctly. You can always confirm if a specific file or folder was shared with you (and the owner’s details) by searching through your past email for Google Drive invites to collaborate. If so, you’ve got no recourse but to contact the owner for help. If a missing file belongs to someone else, they might have revoked your permissions or deleted it. If you want to check the activity of a specific folder, simply select it, and the Activity pane should update accordingly. You should also see activity by any of your collaborators.

You should then see a long list of activities related to Google Drive, such as when you opened, renamed, edited, moved, or deleted files.

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