X-Git-Url: https://git.distorted.org.uk/u/mdw/putty/blobdiff_plain/b42fb83712ca158a86b7c2f1f14499cd7906ab01..70637309a61321d83a4d0576b875b7dcb7085fa5:/doc/errors.but

diff --git a/doc/errors.but b/doc/errors.but
index 211e71f9..c87c0f6b 100644
--- a/doc/errors.but
+++ b/doc/errors.but
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-\versionid $Id: errors.but,v 1.7 2003/07/12 13:25:43 jacob Exp $
+\define{versioniderrors} \versionid $Id$
 
 \C{errors} Common error messages
 
@@ -125,6 +125,28 @@ Similarly, any error message starting with \q{Assertion failed} is a
 bug in PuTTY. Please report it to us, and include the exact text
 from the error message box.
 
+\H{errors-key-wrong-format} \q{Unable to use this private key file},
+\q{Couldn't load private key}, \q{Key is of wrong type}
+
+Various forms of this error are printed in the PuTTY window, or
+written to the PuTTY Event Log (see \k{using-eventlog}) when trying
+public-key authentication, or given by Pageant when trying to load a
+private key.
+
+If you see one of these messages, it often indicates that you've tried
+to load a key of an inappropriate type into PuTTY, Plink, PSCP, PSFTP,
+or Pageant.
+
+You may have specified a key that's inappropriate for the connection
+you're making. The SSH-1 and SSH-2 protocols require different private
+key formats, and a SSH-1 key can't be used for a SSH-2 connection (or
+vice versa).
+
+Alternatively, you may have tried to load an SSH-2 key in a \q{foreign}
+format (OpenSSH or \cw{ssh.com}) directly into one of the PuTTY tools,
+in which case you need to import it into PuTTY's native format
+(\c{*.PPK}) using PuTTYgen - see \k{puttygen-conversions}.
+
 \H{errors-refused} \q{Server refused our public key} or \q{Key
 refused}
 
@@ -178,8 +200,8 @@ A known server problem which can cause this error is described in
 This error occurs when PuTTY decrypts an SSH packet and the
 decrypted data makes no sense. This probably means something has
 gone wrong in the encryption or decryption process. It's difficult
-to tell from this error message whether the problem is in the client
-or in the server.
+to tell from this error message whether the problem is in the client,
+in the server, or in between.
 
 If you get this error, one thing you could try would be to fiddle
 with the setting of \q{Miscomputes SSH2 encryption keys} on the Bugs
@@ -188,11 +210,11 @@ panel (see \k{config-ssh-bug-derivekey2}).
 Another known server problem which can cause this error is described
 in \k{faq-openssh-bad-openssl} in the FAQ.
 
-\H{errors-x11-proxy} \q{Authentication failed at PuTTY X11 proxy}
+\H{errors-x11-proxy} \q{PuTTY X11 proxy: \e{various errors}}
 
-This error is reported when PuTTY is doing X forwarding. It is sent
-back to the X application running on the SSH server, which will
-usually report the error to the user.
+This family of errors are reported when PuTTY is doing X forwarding.
+They are sent back to the X application running on the SSH server,
+which will usually report the error to the user.
 
 When PuTTY enables X forwarding (see \k{using-x-forwarding}) it
 creates a virtual X display running on the SSH server. This display
@@ -203,10 +225,10 @@ details it needs to enable clients to connect, and the server should
 put this mechanism in place automatically, so your X applications
 should just work.
 
-A common reason why people see this message is because they used SSH
-to log in as one user (let's say \q{fred}), and then used the Unix
-\c{su} command to become another user (typically \q{root}). The
-original user, \q{fred}, has access to the X authentication data
+A common reason why people see one of these messages is because they
+used SSH to log in as one user (let's say \q{fred}), and then used
+the Unix \c{su} command to become another user (typically \q{root}).
+The original user, \q{fred}, has access to the X authentication data
 provided by the SSH server, and can run X applications which are
 forwarded over the SSH connection. However, the second user
 (\q{root}) does not automatically have the authentication data
@@ -222,16 +244,19 @@ of \c{su} do it automatically.
 \H{errors-connaborted} \q{Network error: Software caused connection
 abort}
 
-This error occurs when the Windows network code decides that your
-network connection is dead. For example, it will happen if you pull
-the network cable out of the back of an Ethernet-connected computer,
-or if Windows has any other similar reason to believe the entire
-network has become unreachable.
+This is a generic error produced by the Windows network code when it
+decides that your network connection is dead. For example, it might
+happen if you pull the network cable out of the back of an
+Ethernet-connected computer, or if Windows has any other similar
+reason to believe the entire network has become unreachable.
 
 We are not aware of any reason why this error might occur that would
 represent a bug in PuTTY. The problem is between you, your Windows
 system, your network and the remote system.
 
+Some people have reported that enabling keepalives (see
+\k{config-keepalive}) fixes this error for them.
+
 \H{errors-connreset} \q{Network error: Connection reset by peer}
 
 This error occurs when the machines at each end of a network