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I am using VS2010 on Windows XP pro (sp3, x86), and I just installed the hotfix kb2106584. This fix was reported by some people, example here, as having a fix for an issue I had with Asp.Net Development Server not getting opened properly from VS, which I was having previously. My issue was being caused by ESET NOD32 messing with the http traffic from devenv.exe and causing all the ports in my computer to get used up, however.
Anyway, as soon as that was finished, I opened my website back up, and clicked debug. Asp.Net Dev server pops up, which was what the hotfix was supposed to make happen, and then notepad++ opens with the tabs I had last time I used it, and IE never shows up. "Wait, what?" try it again. and again. Always notepad++, never IE, always with no new documents opened, just some completely unrelated stuff.
I've seen one other post on SO about this happening, here, but his issue was corrupted files/filesystem. My project is in source control, so I tried a delete&revert to yesterday's revision. Still opens notepad++, so that's not my issue.
I've also tried rebuilding, which did nothing, and deleting my local Solution files, which also did nothing. I restarted the program and then the computer, both to no avail.
I start to believe that this is the hotfix screwing things up, so I try to do a system restore to a couple days ago. Once again, no dice; it's still pulling up notepad++ instead of IE.

So, the questions become:
Is there a setting or two I can try changing to make it open the proper program again?
Or was this a bad/improper hotfix, and if so, how do I uninstall it? It doesn't show up in the Add/Remove Programs dialog, and I don't see an option to uninstall it in VS, or in the installer.

Thanks in advance.

[edit] Also note: Notepad++ is not actually opening the website file, it's just getting opened with whatever I left in it last time. I dunno if this helps at all, but I felt like details would be appreciated. [/edit]

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FireSBurnsmuP
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    I think Notepad++ asks if you want it to be the default html editor when you install it. If you can't fix it in any other way. Unistall notepad++ see if the problem is fixed. And then reinstall it but this time uncheck the html option. –  Apr 03 '13 at 19:52
  • btw if you just open .html files (just double click), which program opens them? –  Apr 03 '13 at 19:53
  • @stardust notepad++. What it's trying to open is actually an aspx file, which I believe also defaults to notepad++. However, until this morning, VS never had a problem opening IE instead. – FireSBurnsmuP Apr 03 '13 at 19:55
  • ^ actually, to clarify, .aspx and .cs files open in VS by default. I am not convinced that it matters, though. I'm thinking of reinstalling VS and seeing how that goes. – FireSBurnsmuP Apr 04 '13 at 13:03
  • Update: uninstalling visual studio did not fix the problem. After installing express (I didn't have access to my ultimate disc, and need this working), it's still opening notepad++. At this point, I'm at a total loss. I would say "registry", but system restore replaces those too, right? – FireSBurnsmuP Apr 05 '13 at 13:00
  • do you see any contents inside notepade file (i.e your page file) – Idrees Khan Apr 05 '13 at 17:36
  • @DotNetDreamer: Nope, nothing appeared in the editor. It was notepad++, which I have set to display my previously opened documents, but it NEVER displayed the homepage's aspx. – FireSBurnsmuP Apr 09 '13 at 15:42

1 Answers1

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Fixed:
Uninstalling n++, deleting EVERY registry entry & folder containing 'notepad++' (except one, from whose string I removed ";notepad++.exe"), then reinstalling n++ made VS stop opening notepad++.
Now it opens the default web-browser again.

[edit]
Note for anyone else out there who ends up with this specific and bizarre problem:
It would be worth a shot to try changing the "Browse With..." setting in VS, by r-clicking on Default.aspx to "Internet Explorer". My list included Notepad++ as an available internet browser.
This might be a better solution than the previous, if it does in fact work.

I didn't know this setting would allow Notepad++ as an option until I had to set it back to IE again after all this, and that may have been the problem all along. Apparently, VS just changes this setting sometimes. How or why N++ got put in as an internet browser is completely beyond me, but I did myself the favor of 'Remove'ing NotePad++ from the list, and you may wish to do the same.
Again, I'll never truly know whether or not I nuked everything when I could have changed a single setting that got mysteriously reset, but may this [lesson?] at least be recorded for posterity.
[/edit]

It took all of that to figure out that it [was?] a bogus registry entry somewhere that [may have been?] modified by the hotfix; a registry entry that neither notepad++ nor visual studio 2010 ultimate would clean up on uninstall or replace on reinstall
Which was it? I have no idea. Like I said, I didn't even use n++ this week until VS started opening it for me, and the only change I made was to install that hotfix.

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