Accidentally quit terminal and files are gone

[directeur]

I was trying to execute a command in terminal. It became unresponsive so I quit terminal.

Then all of my files on my Desktop, my Documents folder and my Downloads folder are gone. There are important documents in all three places and I don't know how to retrieve them! I also had this "locked" folder in my Documents folder and that has not been erased, meaning all files are gone except that locked folder.

I tried to search the web about Time Machine and if I can restore my files but unfortunately, I don't think I can use it since it wasn't turned on or something... I wasn't sure about it so I didn't touch it. The off/on button wasn't turned "on" (Does this mean something?)

I just faced this. I've been searching on the internet for about 10 minutes to see if anyone else faced the same problem but I had no luck finding a post that can provide me with answers.

For my part, I have restarted then shut down my macbook. I also tried to see if I can do something with the Time Machine application, but like I stated, I was helpless with it. I'm not really good with the technical things so I wasn't able to do much but search the web in hope for answers.

Help! I'm tearing my hair out here... I wrote this by following the "How to maximize your MacRumors troubleshooting experience" post. I hope I posted this on the right section on the forum. If not, please direct me to the place and I'll repost it there.

Computer Info:
> Macbook Pro (13 inch)
> Mac OS X Lion 10.7.5
> Processor Name: Intel Core 2 Duo
> Processor Speed: 2.4 GHz
> Memory: 4 GB
HELP! PLEASEEE!!! Thank you... :/

[mfram]

You'd have to tell us what command you tried to execute in the Terminal. Maybe you didn't get rid of your files and just made them so you can't read them.