lost document folders

All folders and files after those beginning with an "f"
have disappeared from My Documents. I have been able to
locate them in My Recent Documents but when I copy them
to My Documents, it says they are replacing folders/files
already there. None of these are in the recycle bin.
First, how did I lose them (or the icons) and how to
restore them without the "quick" icon in My Documents. I
have tried to do a Restore but that will not activate
either. ??? Any help would surely be a blessing.....