I gather from the lack of replies that what I'm describing is unusual.
In the end the problem resolved when I uninstalled the McAfee software that came bundled with the PC.
Oh well. Got to figure out which AV to use now that McAfee is toast.
I'm helping my wife set up her new Windows Vista laptop (a Dell, Vista Home Premium)
I've encountered two significant problems with Windows Mail. I've posted elsewhere about POP3/SMTP access problems.
When Windows Mail starts up it shows a list of folders under the heading 'Local Folders' in a sidebar on the left. Nothing displays in the larger part of the window to the right. The folder list appears to be correct, but it does not behave as expected. If I click one of the local mail folders nothing happens. If click on the heading 'Local Folders' (or if I click the little triangle symbol to the left of 'Local Folders' twice so that the list compresses and then re-expands) and THEN click on one of the local mail folders the right side of the windows displays a list of the messages in the folder.
I did not find the expected option to have Windows Mail display the Inbox when it opens but I'm not sure if that option is available in Windows Mail like it was in OE.
The wildcard in this situation is this: I am not sure if this behavior has been present from the beginning or if it started after I imported my wifes OE message store from her old computer (Win XP Pro SP2 with OE 6). The old message folders were imported as sub-folders in a 'Local Folders' folder called 'Imported Folder'.
Is the behavior I described normal for Windows Mail? Or is it aberrant? If aberrant, is there a fix?
Thanks

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