Need Help: Pics not linking with edits

Question

Hope I can be clear here...
I changed the top folder - deleted it. Mistake on my part, learned my lesson. This made the corresponding pix in LR go red - LR can't find where the original files are. My LR edits are still there though if you click on "develop" on any of the red files.
Is there a way to link my work to the files? Where are the file changes stored? Can I override this mistake? When I reimport the files they do import but do not link up with my LR edits.
SO, my database is a long list of red files with no top level folder. Underneath that long list is another long list of active files with the top level folder but no LR edits. I need to sync my original files with the LR edits.
Two years of work! Need to fix this. Ack. I refuse to let this go. There must be a way to fix this.
Thanks,
Jessica

Answer 1

I think I may have a new insight. it's not so simple b/c a hard drive died and i had to relocate the images to another hard drive. the red folders, with the edits, is referencing a dead hard drive. the white folders, below it, which are all the same folders and pics, references the new active drive.
i think i need to know how to find the edits. to answer the other question, i did try to load the backups but it didn't work. i think they were too recent and were backups of the current drive.
what i think i need to do is find the old drive with the edits, but once i do, do i try to find the backups and then drag them to the new drive? i'm perplexed.
thoughts?
jessica