Windows 7 - files downloaded to desktop cant be seen, but are there

Im downloading files to my desktop, but the only way i can access them is going to open containing folder option from the download box (firefox), which just takes me to the desktop folder. if i navigate to the desktop folder manually, they cant be found. nor do they come up in a search. this just started happening hours ago, so unless something out of my control made these files hidden all of the sudden, im not sure what is going on. i have downloaded different file types from different websites, so its not just a problem from one site or file type. any help would be appreciated.

Interesting problem. I should think if you downloaded files to the desktop, and used Windows Explorer to view the desktop, then you should see the files. Why not create a folder in your Libraries called "Downloads" and configure Firefox to download files to that folder (Firefox options, options, general tab). See what happens then. Curious.

Do you see them after refreshing the Desktop by right clicking on it and choosing Refresh? Sometimes when this happens on my PC I do that and I am then able to see the files downloaded on the Desktop.

Right-click on your Desktop, go to View, and make sure you have 'Show desktop icons' ticked.

ive tried the suggestions from the previous 2 posts, still no luck...the most frustrating thing is ive had this problem before and was able to fix it, but i cant remember how

Could be a work of malware that hides your files perhaps? Or maybe its a bug from any download managers you might be using. Try downloading with another browser while not using any download managers and choosing another download directory besides the Desktop. Have you tried showing hidden files?

for now ive just been downloading to another folder, but this is kind of inconvenient. ive enabled hidden files and that hasnt helped. this seems like a simple problem, very frustrating.