Hi, just an update.
I decided to try a file recovery program (Photorec) to locate the missing files, however, it recovered nearly 5000 files! It's almost useless though because almost all of the files are corrupted and even if they weren't, it wouldn't be practical to figure out which files are the ones that I am looking for because the filenames weren't retained and I'm assuming most of the files are those that I deleted on purpose and no longer want. I have no idea how to recover files from one particular folder (the faulty one). I also tried to use another file recovery program called Foremost, which I think recovers the filenames but I haven't been able to get it to recover a single file yet, probably due to my not knowing how to use it properly.
FYI, I did back up all the files onto two different hard drives!!
Not really asking a question in this poast, just wanted to provide an update on the outcome. Thanks.