Yes but no normal .dot file found there.
There are 2 reasons you can't see it.
1. Word may not be open when looking.
2. The "Hidden" file is also being "Hidden"
Unfortunately both of these problems occur fairly often.
The way around the problem is to create your own "normal.dot" template file.
1. Close any existing word files.
2. Select "New" then select the option to "Create a template" (Unfortunately different versions of Word have a slightly different layout, but the principle is the same)
3. Once you have made any changes to the open file, such as page width, font, etc go to "Save" (or even Save As) and make sure you have selected the option to save it as a *.dot file (Template) and save it to the location previously given.
Ok,
The bad news is that word may tell you the file is already there or being used etc, but don't worry, just save the file to somewhere you can get to it at a later date (maybe the desktop).
Now.
Close Word then open the folder "C:\Documents and Settings\oldfogy\Application Data\Microsoft\
Templates"
then copy or move the newly created "normal.dot" file into it.
All I can add is what you are experiencing is nothing new, and trying to create or alter the file is not always as straightforward as it seems, although, believe it or not, you can look in the folder a second-time and the normal.dot file will be visible.