Looking for help recovering an old Hotmail account and an old Bitcoin wallet (2009–2011)

Hi everyone,

I’m trying to help my father recover access to something he had many years ago, and I’m hoping someone with experience in Bitcoin history or old Microsoft/Hotmail accounts can point us in the right direction.

Sometime around 2009–2011, my father acquired approximately 9 BTC and stored them in some Bitcoin wallet. Unfortunately, he can’t remember the name of the wallet software anymore. He believes it may have been one of the early/official Bitcoin wallet programs available at the time.

He also kept some information about the wallet in one of his Hotmail emails, essentially as a personal note/reminder.

Unfortunately, around 2013, he lost access to that Hotmail account. At the time, he didn't consider it particularly important and didn't attempt to recover it.

We're now trying to determine whether there is any legitimate way to recover:

1. The old Hotmail/Microsoft account.
2. Any information stored in that account relating to the Bitcoin wallet.
3. The original wallet or wallet credentials, if they can be recovered.
4. Whether there are any other places we should look for evidence of the wallet.

I will not post the Hotmail address publicly for privacy and security reasons.

If anyone has experience with recovering very old Hotmail accounts, early Bitcoin wallets, or identifying old wallet software, I'd really appreciate advice on what we should check and what information would be useful.

If someone provides genuinely useful assistance that leads us in the right direction, I'm willing to offer a cut as reward, although I want to make sure everything is done legitimately and safely.

Thanks in advance to anyone who can help or point me toward the right resources.