Notepad++ doesn't launch (notepad++.exe present in the task manager)

Question

Yesterday Notepad++ was runnable, but today it doesn't. In spite of the notepad++.exe (with its 13 process) presence is the tasks manager, Notepad++ window doesn't launch.

I tried to uninstall and re-install the sofware (and the first launch works), notepad.exe is present in C:\Windows and C:\Windows\Sytem32 folders.

The last file opened with notepad++ was a xml file which isn't readable by other softwares because of the following error message :

The '<' caracter can not be used in a value attribut

What can I do please ?

Allman · Answer 1 · 2011-08-11T12:50:31.627

28

Try removing the file from C:\Users\<username>\AppData\Roaming\Notepad++\session.xml which reopens the file when you start the program.

If that does not work, maybe you should try a complete uninstall/reinstall if you haven't already.

EDIT: Workaround found (thanks to sgmoore): Install standalone version of Notepad++ (notepad++ portable).

edited Aug 11 '11 at 12:50

answered Aug 11 '11 at 09:36

Allman

391

score 11 · Answer 2 · edited Feb 11 '14 at 13:43

11

I encountered the same problem as you. Do the following:

Go to C:\Program Files\Notepad++\plugins
Move LightExplorer.dll to C:\Program Files\Notepad++\plugins\disabled.

If you cannot find LightExplorer.dll then move Explorer.dll to C:\Program Files\Notepad++\plugins\disabled

The problem should be solved with this method.

edited Feb 11 '14 at 13:43

Jawa

3,679

answered Sep 14 '11 at 04:56

Wiiwiiking

119

score 5 · Answer 3 · answered Nov 24 '11 at 08:47

I sometimes get this problem too, all I do is:

use task manager to kill those np++ processes
Find np++ shortcut in the start menu, right click and chose "Run as Administrator" (window appeared)
Close this np++ window, then reopen it normally (without Administrator) and it works.

I assume it is something like the session file, or a plugin, that gets locked up, or refuses access, and running as administrator clears that issue - but I could be wrong.

Hope my solution works for you, and anyone else who experiences this issue.

score 2 · Answer 4 · answered Aug 11 '11 at 09:13

In spite of the notepad++.exe (with its 13 process) presence is the tasks manager...

Forgive me if I miss understand this statement but you're saying there are 13 notepad++ processes running?

If so I'd say one of them (probably the first/original) is stuck/unresponsive/otherwise occupied.

Kill all of your notepad++ processes and restart the application. Restarting your computer should have the same effect.

One final note, notepad.exe has nothing to do with notepad++ and is Windows' built in text editor, screwing with it won't fix this third part app.

score 0 · Answer 5 · answered Aug 12 '16 at 08:46

I located the folder containing notepad++.exe (in my case C:\Program Files\Notepad++), I then right clicked on the parent folder (C:\Program Files\Notepad++) and chose Windows' Restore Previous Versions. Luckily I had a version from a few hours back, and restoring that fixed the issues. I suspect some file in there became corrupt.

score 0 · Answer 6 · answered Aug 22 '16 at 05:40

0

Same problem. I find out that notepad creates DropboxExt.40.dll file in my dropbox bin folder just after lightExplorer loaded. I disabled any access to DropboxExt.40.dll file and now NP works fine. Maybe LE plugin is in bad hands now.

answered Aug 22 '16 at 05:40

Megabyte

1

score 0 · Answer 7 · answered Nov 18 '16 at 19:27

Notepad++ v6.9.2 Won't Run Solution

How I fixed my non-starting Notepad++:

Using Windows Explorer, I navigated to C:\Users\\AppData\Roaming\Notepad++.
Right-clicked on 'session.xml'.
Selected 'Edit with Notepad++'.
In Notepad++, closed/saved all open files.
Exited Notepad++.
Re-opened Notepad++ normally.

score 0 · Answer 8 · edited Mar 20 '18 at 17:22

0

But this is what helped me with v7.5.6:

Go to Preferences, File Associations, select Notepad and move txt and log associations to the right pane using button with arrow.

edited Mar 20 '18 at 17:22

bertieb

7,543

answered Mar 20 '18 at 16:53

IgorStack

131
4

score 0 · Answer 9 · edited Dec 12 '20 at 02:55

Two Options:

Try closing Notepad++, then delete config.xml (e.g., %AppData%\Notepad++\config.xml). A new instance of config.xml will be created when you re-start Notepad++
Alternatively, you can also open the existing config.xml, then find and delete long file/folder paths. In my case, the last file path, within the tag, was 233 characters long (including beginning and ending quotes). Once deleted, Notepad++ started working as expected.

score 0 · Answer 10 · answered Mar 12 '21 at 08:17

In my case it was a problem with the plugin "NppSaveAsAdmin". First, I removed all plugin folders from C:\Program Files\Notepad++\plugins, then I readded them one by one and checked in between if Notepad++ starts.

I am using v7.9.3 (build time Feb 14 2021)

score 0 · Answer 11 · answered May 05 '21 at 14:13

I found that my AppPosition setting had become corrupted in my config.xml so I was not able to find the running window. I renamed:

 C:\Users\<your username>\AppData\Roaming\Notepad++

and then restarted Notepad++, which complained, but opened. That created a new version of the folder. In the new folder, I found the "AppPosition" in the "working" config.xml:

C:\Users<your username>\AppData\Roaming\Notepad++\config.xml

GUIConfig name="AppPosition" x="your x value" y="your y value" width="your width value" height="your height value" isMaximized="no"

I modified that line to match in my original Notepad++ folder, closed Notepad++, renamed my original Notepad++ back to:

 C:\Users\<your username>\AppData\Roaming\Notepad++

Started Notepad++, and everything was back.

(Please excuse any bad formatting, this is my first post.)

score 0 · Answer 12 · answered Jun 06 '14 at 11:08

I would recommend you to do the following:

Open task manager
Terminate all instances of Notepad++. (Not to confuse with Notepad.exe)
Open command prompt (cmd)
(If necessary) navigate to your notepad++ installation directory
Start Notepad++.exe using the following command: Notepad++.exe -nosession.

If it is the problematic file that you have previously opened and it was preventing notepad from starting up, the -nosession argument should resolve it.

score -1 · Answer 13 · edited Jul 03 '14 at 18:37

-1

For my case, it was caused by a setting I recently changed.

From menu: Settings - preferences - MISC tab - at right bottom corner, I put "xml" in Session file Ext field for save session file convenience.

I did not realize this would cause the xml file to be unable to open in Notepad++.

edited Jul 03 '14 at 18:37

Mokubai

95,412

answered Jul 03 '14 at 17:54

passby

1

score -1 · Answer 14 · answered Oct 15 '14 at 14:58

I just ran into a similar issue where Notepad++ would launch, show in the taskbar, but not display on screen. This happened after I had logged into my computer through remote desktop from another PC.

I was able to fix it by alt-tabbing to the process and then use [windows key]+[left arrow] to move the window to my main monitor.

Notepad++ doesn't launch (notepad++.exe present in the task manager)

14 Answers14

Notepad++ v6.9.2 Won't Run Solution