Uninstalled everything again, reinstalled 8.4.9 (again, proper entry appears immediately after install as expected) and will stick with it for now to see what happens.

1. As before, fully uninstalled NPP
2. Installed 8.4.9, instead of going directly to 8.5.2
3. Context menu entry appeared
4. Updated to all subsequent versions (8.5, 8.5.1, 8.5.2)
5. Context menu entry remained.

Can’t say what caused this. Could be related to the recent context menu changes. Or not.

Since the last couple of updates, the context menu entry on Windows 10 has vanished.

It was tested on Win 10 before release, and it worked there. So something weird must be going on.

But as I told the Win7 user a couple posts above, as a workaround, doing the registry edit above will give you an “Edit with Notepad++” entry which works in every Windows before Windows 11.

I’ve tried uninstalling/reinstalling NPP, running the installer as admin, sfc /scannow, re-registering file associations within NPP. Nothing works, and that useful entry does not appear any more.

Windows 10 22H2 x64 (19045.2846)

The test build did not resolve the issue, sysprep generalize fails, aborts operation cannot be completed until issue is resolved.

“Edit with Notepad++” context menu is still missing in Win7x64

As it says here, Win7 is in the “can be run but not supported” status.

But honestly, in Win7, it’s super-easy for you to manually edit the registry in a single location and have it add “Edit in Notepad++”:

• go to HKCU\Software\Classes\*\Shell (for just you) or HKLM\Software\Classes\*\Shell (for “all users”) – if it doesn’t exist, create the Shell key under *
• create Key under Shell called MyNotepad++
  • set value called (Default) to Edit with Notepad++
• create Key under MyNotepad++ called command
  • set value called (Default) to "c:\Program Files\Notepad++\notepad++.exe" "%1" (yes, include those quote marks!)

After exiting the regedit, you may have to log out and log back in, or maybe even reboot. But after that, you should have Edit with Notepad++ in your Windows 7 Context Menu.

Automatic update isn’t triggered for every release, as is explained in the user manual. Until auto-update is triggered for a version, Notepad++'s ? > Update Notepad++ won’t see a new release as available.

The URL https://notepad-plus-plus.org/update/getDownloadUrl.php shows that the last auto-update trigger was for v8.4.8, which means that for various reasons, Don has not triggered auto-update on any version since v8.4.8 (usually because bugs/regressions that Don has deemed too critical to trigger the auto-update). (That URL comes from c:\program files\Notepad++\updater\gup.xml or equivalent for your installation; the updater uses that URL, then if there is a newer version, grabs the <Location> to use for grabbing the most recent installer.)

The next version that Don feels is stable enough will have auto-update triggered, and when that happens, then (and only then) will a check for updates show available updates. When he does this, Don usually posts an update message in the “Announcement” thread: see, for example, the most recent auto-update in v8.4.8 Release topic, where he said, “FYI: Auto-update for v8.4.8 has been triggered.” If you haven’t seen that message from Don in a given “Announcement” topic, then that version hasn’t been triggered yet.

If it is, the binaries above may fix your problem.

Edit: I’ve create the concerning issue here:
https://github.com/notepad-plus-plus/nppShell/issues/29

SYSPRP Package NotepadPlusPlus_1.0.0.0_neutral__7njy0v32s6xk6 was installed for a user, but not provisioned for all users. This package will not function properly in the sysprep image.

I downloaded 8.4.9 instead, and had no problem. I didn’t try the versions in between.

I had the same problem as @Jerry-CRC . Simply installing over the old version of http://download.notepad-plus-plus.org/repository/MISC/nppShell.TEST16/ did not work. Uninstall old version and install version from http://download.notepad-plus-plus.org/repository/MISC/nppShell.TEST16/ and the menu is there!

Your issue should be fixed in these binaries.

Notepad++ v8.5.2 (64-bit)
Build time : Apr 4 2023 - 19:55:32
Path : C:\Program Files\Notepad++\notepad++.exe
Command Line :
Admin mode : OFF
Local Conf mode : OFF
Cloud Config : OFF
OS Name : Windows 11 Enterprise (64-bit)
OS Version : 22H2
OS Build : 22621.1413
Current ANSI codepage : 1252
Plugins :
mimeTools (2.9)
NppConverter (4.5)
NppExport (0.4)

Notepad++ v8.5.2   (64-bit)
Build time : Apr  4 2023 - 19:55:32
Path : C:\Program Files\Misc. Shareware and Freeware\Notepad++\notepad++.exe
Command Line : 
Admin mode : OFF
Local Conf mode : OFF
Cloud Config : OFF
OS Name : Windows 11 Home (64-bit)
OS Version : 22H2
OS Build : 22621.1413
Current ANSI codepage : 1252
Plugins : 
    ComparePlus (1.1)
    DSpellCheck (1.4.24)
    ExtSettings (1.3)
    HexEditor (0.9.12)
    HTMLTag (1.3.6)
    JSMinNPP (1.2205)
    mimeTools (2.9)
    NppConverter (4.5)
    NppExec (0.8.2)
    NppExport (0.4)
    PythonScript (2)
    XMLTools (3.1.1.13)
    _CustomizeToolbar (5.3)

and “Edit with Notepad++” still appears in the Explorer context menu - I suspect that’s what he means by “the mouse menu icon” - the same as it always has. However, I haven’t made any attempts to force N++ to replace Notepad like many of the people here.
Full disclosure - I have been attempting (and failing) to get the W10 Notepad (instead of the new W11 version) to be the default opener for several file types, but I don’t think those efforts would affect this one way or the other.

the mouse menu icon open in notepad has disappeared

What do you means “the mouse menu icon” exactly?
A screenshot helps for the better understanding.
Also, please provide your Debug Information via menu “?->Debug Info…”.