Google to Probe Issue of Disappeared Files on Drive for Desktop
Google says it is investigating reports from Google Drive users who claim their personal files unexpectedly disappeared from the cloud service. The company acknowledged the issue in a new Google Community Support thread today and believes it involves a "limited subset" of Google Drive for desktop app users. Google notes that it is a sync issue for Google Drive desktop versions 84.0.0.0 to 84.0.4.0.
One user, who had lost all of their Google Drive data since May, discovered the unwanted surprise last week and took their complaints to Google's community support site, The Register reported. As the user explains, Google's support team walked them through a data recovery process, including attempting to backup and restore a DriveFS folder, but to no avail.
The thread currently has 192 users who clicked the "I have the same question" button and a handful of panicked commenters with similar problems. One user noted that his "IT guy" couldn't find any trace of the files, and another indicated that Google requested an export of his drive's diagnostic data.
A Google Drive team member named Saitej posted a warning telling users not to click "disconnect account" within Google Drive for desktop. They also warned against deleting or moving the app data folder, which is in:
Windows: %USERPROFILE%\AppData\Local\
Saitej also recommends that users should back up the app folder somewhere else, on the safe side.
The new home tab layout is an optional feature and if the user does not accept, the Drive app will open in the last used tab, such as the Shared tab or the Files tab. The new update has begun rolling out to both Google Workspace customers and users with personal Google accounts.