How to permanently replace Notepad with a serious text editor on Windows XP

How to permanently replace Notepad with a serious text editor on Windows XP

This is one of the annoyances I encountered now that we work with XP. One of the first things I always do is changing notepad.exe with my favorite Text Editor (which happens to be EditPad, the same as the author of this site, just a coincidence). The trouble is XP is trying to do more and more for you. Instead of cooperating, it is even considering notepad.exe as a vital system file, and does *almost* everything to protect it. Almost