Palettes

My palettes have disappeared! I go to "view" and check palettes and this weird little box appears on my screen. I used to be able to see the palettes on the right-hand side of my screen and they are gone and I can't figure out how to get them back.
Also, is there a time limit to my scores being kept on my list? I have scores that I printed out a while back and I can't find them.