All my files are gone. Please help.

I have been editing a project for several weeks, and every time I would export a file from after effects, I would export it to the media encoder. There, I would start the queue. Afterwards, I would click on the blue hyperlink below "output file", and all my videos would be there. Then I would simply drag the video to adobe premiere. Today, my computer updated on its own. Afterwards, when I opened adobe premiere, it told me all the files that I had brought into the project that way were gone. I now realize that file with all the videos may have been a temp file. Please, is there any way I can retrieve these files? I have poured my soul into filming these clips for my movie for the past year, and then editing them, and now they're gone. If anyone knows where they may be on my computer, or how to retrieve them, I would be so incredibly thankful. Thank you for your time.