Google Drive Files Missing? 12 Proven Fixes to Find and Recover

Google Drive, a famous file hosting service, is used by many users to free up storage space and synchronize files across devices. However, it is not uncommon to have files disappeared from Google Drive, as you can find some complaints online.

It can be a chilling moment when you realize that an important file in Google Drive is missing, it can be a Google Docs, Sheets, Slides file, photo or video. How to get missing Google Drive files back in a simple and quick manner? 12 solutions are available here to tackle the given problems on computer. Land on to take your best pick.

 

Why Did My Google Drive Files Disappear?

The common reasons of why Google Drive files get disappeared can be:

1. You may log into a different account.
2. You disconnect the account.
3. You configure the sync & backup settings in a wrong way.
4. You failed to sync the files.
5. You are unaware of deleting the files by accident.
6. You delete the Google Drive app data by mistake that located in:
   Windows: %USERPROFILE%\AppData\Local\Google\DriveFS
   macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Google/DriveFS 
7. Google Drive app has bugs or glitches.

 

Google Drive Files Missing? 12 Ways to Fix and Recover!

As we mentioned above, files disappeared from Google Drive can be facilitated due to a number of factors. If you found files missing from your Google Drive, we got you covered. In what follows, we’ll dive into 12 working fixes to help you find and recover the missing Google Drive files, from basic to advanced solutions.

Method 1: Recover Permanently Missing Files from Google Drive

If you think your files are permanently missing and you are looking for an easy solution. Don’t fret. As long as the missing files were once synced onto your computer before deletion, you are still with good luck to regain access to them by using a desktop data recovery tool.

Cisdem Data Recovery for Windows or Mac must be such a reliable tool. Designed with high recovery rate, user-friendly interface and straightforward operation, there’s no need for its users to take much technical knowledge to cope with any tough data loss situations. Moreover, it is capable of recovering files directly onto Google Drive or other cloud platforms.

Other useful features of Cisdem Data Recovery:

• Recover almost all file types: document, picture, audio, video, email, etc.
• Support diverse storage devices, like PC/Mac, SD card, USB drive, digital camera and more
• Apply to various data loss situations
• Automatically fix damaged photos, videos and even documents after scanning
• Preview recoverable items to restore wanted Google Drive files only

How to recover permanently missing files from Google Drive?

1. Download and install this program on your PC/Mac.
   Free Download Windows 11/10/8/7 Free Download macOS 10.9 or later
2. Select a location to scan.
   Launch Cisdem, choose PC Recovery. Select the exact location where your missing Google Drive files were once saved, and click Scan.
3. Locate the missing Google Drive files.
   After scanning done, go to Type, or use search bar or file filters to find out the desired files.
4. Recover the Google Drive files that are missing.
   Select the located files to preview and click Recover to retrieve them to a safe location.

Tips:

Cisdem can also repair damaged files, if there are Google Docs, Google Sheets, Google Slides or Google Photos corrupted in your Google Drive, Cisdem will auto repair while previewing the files, just wait patiently until the repair process completes.

 

Method 2. Reconnect to Google Account

If you have downloaded Google Drive app on your Mac and disconnected the account on your device, the files in your Google Drive online will be missing on your computer.

In this case, you need to relaunch Google Drive app and sign in to re-connect with your Google account.

1. Once you relaunch Google Drive app on your device, click Get started on the Welcome page.
2. Follow the instructions to set up your Google Drive.
3. One you have finished the settings, your Google Drive is connected with your Google account again, and you will find the files in the Google Drive folder on your device.

 

Method 3. Check Sync & Backup Settings

First of all, make sure you’ve logged into the account that stores your files, and connect the account on your device, by going to Settings > Preferences > Settings.

Then check the storage if use the free account, files won’t be uploaded and finally go missing if they exceed maximum capability 15GB.

Lastly, make sure you have add wanted folders and photos to sync with Google Drive, click on the folders and tick the box before “Sync with Google Drive”.

Then check if the files appear in Google Drive, if not, exit the app, then restart.

 

Method 4: Check Error List

You may stop the sync before the uploading finishes, or there is internet disconnection during the sync, which give you a false sense that there are files missing from Google Drive, you can check the error list and verify.

1. Click on the Settings icon and choose Error list.
2. Check the files that failed to be uploaded from the list and verify if they are the missing files.
3. Sync the files to your Google Drive again.

 

Method 5: Check Google Drive Trash Folder

Files deleted from Google Drive will go to its Trash folder in the first place. However, Google Drive automatically purges the deleted items when they are in the Trash for more than 30 days. To retrieve files missing from Google Drive recently, the instructions below are for you.

1. Navigate to the official Google Drive website.
2. Select Trash on the left pane.
3. Find your missing file in Drive, right-click on it and choose Restore to revert it back.

Also, you can check the Trash app on your Windows or Mac to restore if you accidentally move them to trash.

Or put back the DriveFS folder that contains the Google Drive app data from Trash bin to restore the missing files.

 

Method 6: Log in with Incognito Mode

Logging into Google Drive under Chrome’s incognito mode is also an efficient way to find files missing from Google Drive potentially, because the caches, cookies, histories may prevent your Google Drive from loading and working properly. To do this, you’re obliged to:

1. Open Google Chrome, click the 3-dot icon and go to New Incognito Window.
2. Log into Google Drive and check if the missing files appear.

 

Method 7: Check Activity Panel

Your detailed operations on Google Drive are set to be recorded on Activity Panel, including editing, adding, deleting, sharing, etc. So if you’ve set up Google Drive correctly but still find some files are missing from Google Drive, Activity Panel is the first place you can look for them. Here are the steps to fix Google Drive files missing.

1. Go to drive.google.com.
2. Click My Drive, tap on the Info icon at the top-right corner.
3. Choose Activity, scroll down the Activity Panel to check if your lost files are present.

 

 

 

Method 8: Recover from Google Photos Backup

If the missing files are photos or videos and you’ve backed up them to Google Photos when setting up Google Drive on your device, you can recover the missing files from the backup in Google Photos.

1. Log into Google Photos.
2. Go to Photos, select the photos or videos backup.
3. Click on the 3-dot icon and choose Download.
4. Then upload the recovered files to your Google Drive again.

 

Method 9: Reinstall Google Drive

If the problem remains the same, there may be some underlying causes, then you are recommended to reinstall Google Drive and start over the settings to make sure everything goes in the right direction at the beginning.

1. Press Window + R > input control > hit Enter.
2. From Programs section, choose Uninstall a program.
3. Find Google Drive from the program list, click Uninstall to uninstall this application.
4. Go to the download page of Google Drive, tap on Download Drive for desktop.
5. Follow the prompts to finish the installation.

 

Method 10: Recover from Google Admin Console

Suppose the Trash folder has been emptied unluckily, Google Admin console is another direction to recover missing files in Google Drive. This requires that you are using an administrator account, rather than a personal one. As an administrator, you are allowed to restore deleted files from Google Admin console within 25 days after they are deleted from Trash. Seize your time to learn how as follows.

1. Sign in to your Google Admin console.
2. Go to Menu > Directory > Users.
3. Find the user who needs their missing Drive data restored.
4. Scroll down to choose Restore Data option.
5. Select the date range for the files that you want to recover and click Restore. Your files disappeared from Google Drive will be restored into their original locations, the duration depends on the size.

 

Method 11: Find Orphaned Files

Google Drive files missing can be resulted from orphaned files as well. What are orphaned files? As the name suggests, an orphaned file refers to the file whose parent folder gets deleted. In general, 2 reasons will lead to orphaned files: 

• You share a folder with someone and later they remove your file.
• You create a file in someone else’s folder and then they delete the entire folder.

Remember that only the owner of a file on Google Drive can truly delete it. Therefore, orphaned files seem to be missing but are not really erased along with their parent folders. All that said, now it’s time to find the missing orphaned files and make them reappear on your Drive.

1. Enter Google Drive page.
2. Type: is:unorganized owner:me into the search bar.
3. If finding the missing file, move it to a folder as you like.

 

Method 12: Submit A File Recovery Request

If none of the mentioned options fix the Google Drive files missing issue successfully, as a last resort, seek help from Google Drive Support team, provided that you are the owner of the missing files. Note that this method works only for personal accounts. See below for how to submit a request for file recovery.

1. Enter Google Drive Help page, sign in with your account. 
2. Go down to choose "Request file recovery" button.
3. Fill in all the required information and tick the Content agreement, click Submit to send your request.
4. You’ll receive a feedback in around 12-48 hours. Lastly check if the missing files in Google Drive have been returned.

 

To Conclude

We hope this article is of help for you to figure out a solution on Google Drive files missing issue. 12 fixes introduced here are not complicated, so feel free to try them out. If you do find the fixes useful, stay tuned with me to know more fixes about missing, disappeared, lost, even permanently deleted files recovery.