Folders disappearing and reappearing?

Ok so this has happened to quite a few of folders today the appear then disappear randomly. One example of this is i have a folder in my My Videos section called "clips" i could not find it so i turned my laptop off and on and it still wasn't there so i gave up looking and turned it off. I then went back later and it was there ! The other example what is quite alot more important is a hidden folder i have on my desktop the only way to find it is by highlighting it or turning "show hidden folders" on; i have done this and highlighted the whole desktop as well and still cannot find it. This is a really important folder as well as it has personal statements to with my bank and money in there. It is not in my recycling box either so i do not know where it could be and i know for sure it is still on my laptop.