This problems seems to be quite popular among Windows users. It seems to occur after node has been reinstalled or updated or when hidden attribute has been removed from C:\Users\IMaster\AppData folder. It might be one of those things that can make you feel
bad especially if you don’t wont to apply some quick hacks like: npm link express
Node returns error because is not able to find required module and that is why problem in most cases is actually easy to fix. First place to check would be require.paths. After typing it in node console I received:
Error: require.paths is removed. Use node_modules folders, or the NODE_PATH environment variable instead.
At the time of writing I am using v0.6.19 but you might see this or similar warning if you using newer version.
As stated you have 2 choices. You can install express (or another module) to local node_modules directory using npm install express or after installing module globally
npm install express -g
you can link it with your current project using
npm link express
Second and last option is to create or update NODE_PATH system variable pointing your node to the right place in the system. If you are Windows user use export command as shown below: