Windows 7: "Public Pictures" Gone!

You'll probably want to do several searches, because the first one may not succeed. If it doesn't, keep trying with different search option settings (i.e. the name of your picture folder, name of one or more files in that folder, any key words for any of the files, etc.)

To do an Advanced Search click on the Windows key + your F key on your keyboard, which will take you to Search. In the upper-right corner click on Advanced Search. Then do your settings:
Location: COMPUTER
Date: If you know the date (or dates range) fill them in; if not, select "any."
Check the little box that says: "include non-indexed, hidden, and system files."
Then, in the search box in the upper-right corner of the screen, fill in the first search word or phrase. You might start with "Public Pictures." (Try the name with quotes first --- if that doesn't work, try it without the quotes.)

The chances are that "Public Pictures" is no longer the name of the folder (especially since the "blank page" icon and message that the folder was empty indicates that pictures are no longer in that folder) so if you know the name of any of the individual photo files, try that next. Keep searching until you find one of the photos, because most likely, if you find one, you'll find them all together.

By the way, each Advanced Search of non-indexed locations will probably take a long time, so be patient. If your pictures are still in your system, they are probably in a non-indexed location, so you'll just have to deal with the time it takes to search all of the computer.

PS When you're done searching, try whs's suggestion of using Shadow Copies. It's excellent software and often works when nothing else does.