helping a friend get back into a very old hotmail account

Honestly, after ten years it's probably gone. Microsoft closes free accounts that nobody signs in to for a couple of years, and once that happens the emails are deleted, not archived anywhere you can ask for. Still worth one try though. Go to the normal sign-in page, type the address, and if it says the account doesn't exist, that's your answer. If it asks for a password instead, the account is still there and she can click forgot password, then pick the option saying she has no access to any of the recovery methods. That opens the recovery form. Fill it in from a device and network she's used before if possible, and give old passwords and subject lines of emails she remembers. The more detail, the better the odds.