Lost mail from inbox and sent box after windows update

[karenwood1]

HP Dv7t laptop, Windows 7 pro, 8 g RAM and 2 internal hard drives.
I had a glitch of some sort. I use Windows 7 Pro and Windows live mail. After an update for Windows 7, I could not connect to the Verizon serer. I got that fixed but in the process, I lost all the messages in my inbox and then Verizon in an attempt to help, removed all my sent messages as well.

I can see them in files on the computer but I cannot open them with Windows live mail from there. I can open them in Outlook but its a trial version. When I try to import from Windows live mail folder to Windows live mail it says I cannot because Windows Live or another program is using them. How do I get around that and reinstall my inbox messages and sent box messages?
Here's where I found them C:\Users\Karen\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows Live Mail\verizon\Inbox But I cannot just import them. Same with the Sent Box. My storage folders remain intact so I don't want to uninstall in reinstall Windows Liive Mail. Every time I try import mail, because I am importing to Windows Live Maail, from live mail, I get a message that I cannot do that because the files are being used by another program. Cannot find another program other than Windows Live mail that is open. But cannot close it and import at the same time. Catch 22. There has to be a way. At one point I saw a message that an update caused people to lose contacts and mail, but I cannot find that message again. It had a solution, I think.

Any help appreciated.

 

[ICIT2LOL]

Karen mate if you know roughly when that update was installed try a system restore back to then it will not lose any data and if you can pin it down to a specific update then set you updates the like in my pic and when the offender comes up right click and Hide it.

 

[whs]

Try Unlocker on the folders to release the handles. Maybe you can move them then.

http://www.filehippo.com/download_unlocker/

 

[karenwood1]

Thanks for suggestions. Restore points also a problem

To ICit2lol; When this first happened I went to a Dec 3rd restore point. IN the end it came up with it encountered a critical error and did not complete. Restarted in safe mode and ran a bunch of diagnostics and found no reason for that to have happened- at least my son did. When we went back to do it again, we found all restore points before some time in 2012 had disappeared. NO idea why. That's when he gave up. I am not in a total panic as I have an ongoing backup to the cloud as well as on the computer but I don't want to do a restore and lose something else. I can see the folders, just not open them.
To whs: I'll try the unlocker and see if that does it. They are there. Its a matter of getting Windows Live to recognize them again I think.
Thanks to both of you for a quick answer.