putty experience

putty experience

---------------------------------------------------------
You’re on Windows 11, using PuTTY and mRemoteNG.

With PuTTY: your saved session works fine → passwordless login succeeds.

With mRemoteNG: using the same saved PuTTY session, you get:
Connection failed!
Access is denied

That means the issue isn’t on CentOS anymore (since PuTTY proves the key login works). The problem is on the Windows client side, specifically how mRemoteNG handles PuTTY sessions and authentication.

---------------------------------------------------------
How PuTTY works (your direct test that works)

You open PuTTY.

In Connection → SSH → Auth → Credentials → Private key file for authentication, you point to your .ppk

You save the session as server_passwordless.

When you open that saved session in PuTTY, it automatically loads the key and you log in passwordlessly

How mRemoteNG works (your failing test)

In mRemoteNG, under Protocol = SSH version 2 you selected PuTTY Session = server_passwordless
This tells mRemoteNG: “Don’t handle keys itself; just call PuTTY with the settings from the saved session.”

Verify PuTTY Session Accessibility
Check if mRemoteNG can see your PuTTY sessions:
# Open Registry Editor as administrator
regedit

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\SimonTatham\PuTTY\Sessions\server_passwordless

 Test Session Name Resolution
Try different session name formats in mRemoteNG:

server passwordless (with space)
server%20passwordless (URL encoded)
server_passwordless (recreate session with underscore)

: Check PuTTY Executable Path
In mRemoteNG settings:

Go to Tools → Options → Advanced → PuTTY
Verify "PuTTY executable" path is correct
Try using full path: C:\Program Files\PuTTY\putty.exe

---------------------------------------------------------