My desktop app isn't syncing properly and now my programs are missing

Oh no, that sounds frustrating! It seems like there was a mix-up with your Dropbox syncing on your new laptop. Here’s what you can do to get your files back onto your desktop: Firstly, log into your Dropbox account through the web browser to make sure all your files are safely stored there. Next, uninstall Dropbox from your laptop and then reinstall it from the official Dropbox website. During the installation process, be sure to choose the correct location for your Dropbox folder on your desktop. Once Dropbox is set up again, it should start syncing your files from the cloud back to your desktop. You might need to give it some time depending on how much data you have. Regarding the programs that are missing, unfortunately, Dropbox doesn’t back up installed programs, only files. You’ll need to reinstall those programs manually. If you had any setup files or installers saved in Dropbox, you can use those to reinstall your programs. For future peace of mind, it might be a good idea to regularly check your Dropbox syncing status and perhaps consider setting up an additional backup for your important files. I hope this helps you get everything sorted out! If you need further assistance, don’t hesitate to ask.

thank you. a few questions:

(1) if i uninstall dropbox from my laptop, will everything stay in the folder in my cloud dropbox?

(2) once re-installed, how will it know to sync back to my laptop?

(3) why did all of the programs disappear? 

(4) "During the installation process, be sure to choose the correct location for your Dropbox folder on your desktop" - how do I make sure it's the correct location?

mlandry, sorry for jumping in. Before troubleshooting further, I want to ask couple more things. 

When you say you tried a new install, did you uninstall the Dropbox app completely first or not? 

Also, do you mean that you can see everything on the Dropbox website, but not on your desktop app? What programs are you missing exactly? 

Is content missing from your local Dropbox folder or the Desktop folder on your computer?

so, i see the copy of my desktop dropbox folder that i copied/whatever on June 15 in dropbox on the website, and then in the new dropbox folder on my laptop.

when i open the dropbox app on my laptop, it shows as "PC (3)", and it has everything from saturday June 15 when i tried to reinstall and whatnot. I just tested it, and neither this folder nor the website have a document i created just now June 17.

basically nothing is working as it was on my last laptop. i have in dropbox an image of my last laptop as of january, and i now have an image of THIS laptop in dropbox and on this computer. 

but nothing is as it was, and now there is no icon on the bottom taskbar for dropbox. and, the document i created today isn't uploading. 

i'm sorry if this is confusing. i just don't want to lose the January or June 15 copies.

i had thought everything was being copied on this new laptop to dropbox, but it wasn't.

i'm sorry. the test document from today Jun 17 is in the dropbox folder something like 6 or 7 clicks down if that makes sense. it's all over the place. same on the dropbox website. shouldn't the documents be  (1) on my current laptop dropbox folder as soon as i click on it. this is a mess. is there any way i can take a screenvideo to show someone? i feel like there's a simple fix with moving folders but i am not sure. 

Hey mlandry, this is a bit confusing indeed, but we'll get to the bottom of it.

The first thing you need to check is whether the Dropbox app on both computers is working/syncing.

You mentioned that there's no Dropbox icon in your taskbar, which is essential; can you reinstall the Dropbox app on that computer, to see if the icon comes back?