i can't find my emails in my inbox

My email icon is no longer on my screen.  How can I restore it ?

i just looked at it yesterday

When was the last time you accessed your account?

If you haven't signed in for the last 270 days, I'm sorry to inform you that your account has been marked as inactive.

Please be informed that free Windows Live Hotmail accounts become inactive if you don't sign in for more than 270 days VIA WEB BROWSER or within the first 10 days after signing up VIA WEB BROWSER for an account.

 After an account becomes inactive, all messages, folders, and contacts are deleted. Incoming messages will be sent back to the sender as undeliverable.

Your account name is still reserved. However, if the account stays inactive for an additional 90 days, the account name may be permanently deleted.

If you don't use your Windows Live ID for 365 days, your Windows Live ID may be permanently deleted.

You should regularly backup the content that you store on the services. Having a regular backup plan and following it can help you prevent loss of your content.

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows-live/mail-import-backup-restore

The best way I know of to backup your email is to install Windows live mail, configure it, and sync it.  Seems like a bit of a PITA but if your data is important to you worth the effort.

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows-live/mail-import-backup-restore

http://ask-leo.com/how\_do\_i\_backup\_windows\_live\_hotmail.html

http://go.ask-leo.com/windowslivemail

Remember Microsoft is not responsible for securing your data, you are.To recover your email do the following

1. Sign in to your Hotmail account (via a Computer/Laptop).
2. Go to your Deleted folder (found on the left pane under Folders).
3. Look for "Lost a message?", and click "recover deleted messages".

You can also check out the following article for more information on how to recover lost/deleted messages from your Hotmail account:

What should I do if email messages are missing from my Hotmail account?

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/hotmail/emails-missing-from-account

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/hotmail/how-recover-deleted-messages

(Note: Don’t forget to click on Show All to see all the recommendations in the article)

We can only recover recently deleted emails, specifically not more than 5 days old. Beyond that won't be possible.

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/hotmail/how-recover-deleted-messages

http://windowslivehelp.com/solution.aspx?solutionid=66b7e7be-6723-4d38-8c62-a58f03e4130e

Outlook will recover as many messages as possible and put them in your Deleted folder. If you don't see the deleted messages that you wanted, it means they are permanently lost.