“Notepad++ process continues running when I exit the program. This is happens normally when exit, and also when installing a new version. The process then locks the app file, preventing replacement till I manually kill the process in the task manager. This happens in Windows 7 and Windows 10.
Has anyone else experienced this? I’ve tried uninstalling it and installing again - same problem.”
https://notepad-plus-plus.org/community/topic/10772/notepad-process-still-running-after-exiting-app#

The original post is locked (I’m too slow), so here’s a new one in case others have the same problem.
Dail was correct. The problem is caused by the “Explorer” plugin. After uninstalling it, Notepad++ closes properly.

NB, to uninstall it, you have to uninstall it using the plugin manager, but the uninstall sits waiting for Notepad++ to close (the process is still running), so you have to kill it in the task manager at that point.

I verified this by adding the Explorer plugin again, and the problem is repeated. Pity, I used the plugin extensively. It was last edited in 2009.

cheers