object reference not found column 0 visual studio

Visual Studio throws "Object Reference not found" error when you select "Deploy" command from the menu. It happens when you try to deploy your component from within Visual Studio. No line number is given. Row is 0, column is 0. The following forum post discusses this scenario, error and solutions in detail:

http://social.msdn.microsoft.com/Forums/en/sharepointdevelopment/thread/878172b4-95de-4023-8d0b-4f3ec4aaf11c

I was actually trying to deploy a web part from the Visual Studio when all of a sudden I started getting this error. The solution is easy. Close the browser window, close command prompt if its open, close Visual Studio. Reset IIS. Open Visual studio again and try now, it will work.