Missing Files After Deleting OS X System Folder from Disk

This is my first post; I'll try to be brief.
I got a new computer (G5 dual) and so wanted to "clean up" my G4 tower for my wife's use. I had three hard drives in the G4, one of which was an 80 GB drive with OS X (Tiger, I think) on it. Another drive had OS 9 on it.
I bought a 300 GB drive for the G4 and put Tiger on that drive. Then I moved OS 9 to the 80 GB drive. In the process, far as I can remember, I deleted only the OS X System Folder from the 80 GB drive (not any prominent folders that appear in "fancy" form on the left side of a Finder Window); so, one OS on each drive.
I deleted a number of files, and moved a number of files, in the process of doing my "clean up." Those files that I *moved* I can now find, no problem. But I left some files in the Movies folder (the "fancy" folder that is on the left side of a Finder Window in OS X) on the 80 GB, and those I now cannot find. My concern is that perhaps, in deleting the OS X System Folder from that drive I somehow either 1) also deleted the Movies Folder (inside the Home Folder inside the Users Folder) by the very act of deleting the System Folder (which seems unlikely to me) or 2) I managed to "hide" the Movies Folder by deleting the OS X System Folder.
I have far more available space on the 80 GB drive than I would expect to see, given the steps I had to take to get some files onto CDs, etc. (I needed all the space I could free up, as I recall). So, this suggests the missing files just might still be there. Spotlight can't see them; booting in OS 9 and using Sherlock doesn't reveal them....
Have I inadvertantly removed these files, or is there hope that they can be restored to life? A related question: If I did delete these files, is there a way to "un-delete" them at this stage?)
Many thanks for any thought anyone may have.
Bob ("rsimon")
G4 Tower (pre-mirror)   Mac OS X (10.4.3)   Also have G5 dual

If you did actually delete your valuable files, you want to stop using that computer as soon as possible. You'd have a good chance to recover deleted files, unless they're already overwritten by other data.
Boot your G4 in Firewire Target Disk Mode (hold down "T" at startup) and connect it to your new G5 using a Firewire cable.
The drives inside the G4 will mount as removable media, so you can browse them and try to find your movies folder. It should be located at
harddrive/user/username/movies.
You can use a utility like WhatSize to find large, (maybe hidden) files.
Post back, in case your data has disappeared and you need a file recovery tool.
Good luck.

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