HELP Desktop files and folders disappeared

Yeah, activating iCloud to sync your files can be very confusing from what I've read and Apple does not do a very good job of explaining the process. In fact, once you activate syncing the Desktop with iCloud....macOS does some behind the scenes "magic". If you turn off that setting, then unfortunately macOS does not reverse those changes. Any new files would have been saved to a hidden iCloud folder within the user's hidden Library folder, but macOS creates a link on the Finder's sidebar called "iCloud Drive" where those files can be found. If the user wants those files located elsewhere, then the user must manually move them. See the following Apple article for details:

Turn off Desktop & Documents Folders on your Mac - Apple Support

Store files in iCloud Drive on Mac - Apple Support

Add your Desktop and Documents files to iCloud Drive - Apple Support

As for seeing mounted volumes on the Desktop you need to make sure those items are check in the Finder's Settings.

Change Finder settings on Mac - Apple Support

Dannymac22 wrote:

On my system, both of those are checked. I've instructed the system to put iCloud Drive and Cloud Storage on my Finder sidebar, but they aren't there.

If they are already checked, then uncheck them & recheck them. Sometimes those settings may need a refresh.

I know iCloud Drive appears by default on my Finder sidebar as I don't recall ever enabling it as I don't use iCloud file syncing services.

You can try manually deleting the Finder .plist preference file which is located in the hidden Library folder of your home user folder. Option-click the Finder's "Go" menu and select "Library", then navigate to the "Preferences" folder and delete the "com.apple.finder.plist" file. Log out of your macOS user account, then log back in. See if that makes any difference.

Otherwise I hope someone else will chime in here with some other suggestions.

Dannymac22 wrote:

Thanks. That makes some sense. I did go to iCloud Drive, but I didn't realize I had to click on "Browse" to see all my stuff. That should have been easy. Now, I do have Desktop back on my Finder sidebar, but I used to have iCloud Drive on the sidebar, but do not anymore. How do I get it there?

Finder --> Settings --> Sidebar and under Locations I have two options iCloud Drive and Cloud Storage.

See the Apple Finder article I linked previously.

Dannymac22 wrote:

Ah, thank you. Deleting the com.apple.finder.plist did the trick. I now have iCloud Drive back on my Finder sidebar. I think I'm good to go now, and will resist the temptation of playing with iCloud sync.

Thanks for the update. I'm glad we were able to resolve the issue.