Corrupt folder on external hard drive

Hi, I am no tech person so please forgive me if my explanation is not detailed enough!

I have just had a new laptop and needed to transfer all documents from old one to new one. This is what I did:

1. Created folder "Old Laptop" on my external hard drive
2. Cut all the documents I needed from old laptop
3. Pasted them into the "Old Laptop" folder in external hard drive
4. Put external hard drive into new laptop
5. Cut the "Pld Laptop" folder
6. Pasted it into My Docs

All the documents that were outside any folders copied over, but all the folders didn't. I went back to my old laptop, they're obviously not there because I cut them. Tried to access the "Old Laptop" folder on external hard drive to see if they were there but it's saying corrupt.

HELP! There are so many files and folders that I need and I would be most grateful for any help on how I can recover these documents!

Many thanks
Vanessa