Message cannot be found

Using Vista and Windows Mail. Every time I exit the mail program and
re-enter, the messages still appear to be there (from, subject and received
still there) but the messages themselves say "Message cannot be found. The
contents of this message cannot be found. Windows Mail". This happens to
all messages -- inbox, sent items, deleted items.

I am using a pop-server through a cable company connection to receive email.

I would appreciate any thoughts on why this is happening.

The ultimate "why" is the use of a non-compatible antivirus.
There are short term and long term fixes. Read the sections labeled
First and Second at

Thank you so much for your help. I am using the anti-virus that came with my
Dell -- maybe I will rethink that.

Anyway, I have stopped the scanning of the messages and will see what
happens now.

For McAfee and Norton antivirus products it is seldom sufficient to
disable scanning of emails. If your problems continue, uninstall the
incompatible antivirus, then download and install a more compatible
antivirus like:

AVG free edition:
http://free.grisoft.com/doc/5390/us/frt/0?prd=aff
or
Avast free edition:
http://www.avast.com/eng/download-avast-home.html

With either of those, during the install phase you must select custom
install, and then deselect the email scanning option.

So the only way to stop this issue is to not scan EM for viruses?? I find
Windows Mail is awful. It hangs, you get error messages when you send, I've
had the issue listed here. If you keep opening and closing the product it
eventually works.

Even Symantec (Norton), the originator of the email scanning concept,
admits that it is redundant, and is safe to turn off:
http://service1.symantec.com/SUPPORT...rc=bar_sch_nam

I don't see a detailed problem description from you in this thread.

I have been having the same problem but only in my junk mail folder but not
with all messages. I am using an acer computer with Vista and windows mail.
My anti virus program is ESET NOD32 Antivirus. I have checked with my service
provider and they cannot find any thing in there storage on my account either

Hi Gary, Intermittently the text in a received email text disappears and
message replacing the original text appears in its place: An icon shaped
like a sheet of paper with upper corner turned down and the letter "i" is in
the middle of this sheet and following this "i" is: "Message cannot be found
The contents of this message cannot be found. Windows Mail"
I have Windows Mail 6.0.6000. I have McAfee Security from my ISP Cox.
Thank you for any help you can give me.

McAfee antivirus is among the top three troublemakers for Windows Mail.
Sometimes it takes a while before symptoms start showing up.
First of all, turn off email scanning in McAfee, although that is seldom sufficient.
Next, delete that email account (because it has been corrupted by McAfee),
restart Windows Mail, then recreate the account.

If the problem continues, the only way you can prove or disprove that
McAfee is the culprit is to uninstall it, followed by using their debris removal tool:
http://service.mcafee.com/FAQDocument.aspx?id=TS100507
If you decide to replace McAfee, we can recommend a free antivirus
program which is more compatible with Windows Mail:

Instead of switching to a different antivirus, another option is to upgrade
to Windows Live Mail (WLM), which is more resistant to the adverse effects
of overly intrusive antivirus products: http://download.live.com/wlmail

Even with WLM, you must disable email scanning in the antivirus,
for the reason explained here