One step forward, one step backward…
The send/receive after deleting the project worked, and he got all the material and comments. Today, though, send/receive shows the same symptoms: the progress bar moves across, then disappears, and nothing appears on the s/r server. It sounds like his repository is corrupted again, so we could go through the painful process again, but it seems that there is some underlying cause that needs addressing.
Is there something I can do for him, or is the best thing at this point to ask him to take the computer to town where someone can sit down with him and trouble-shoot in person?