Resolving Missing OpenSSH Service Configuration After Uninstallation

This article explains how to address a potential issue with OpenSSH configuration after uninstalling and reinstalling the service.

The Problem

When OpenSSH is uninstalled via the Installer, the configuration for the sshd service might be removed. Even if you reinstall OpenSSH through the Feature option, the configuration may still be missing. This can prevent SSH from functioning properly.

The Missing Registry Key

Specifically, the following registry key is often missing after uninstallation:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\sshd

This key is responsible for defining the “OpenSSH SSH Server” service.

The Solution

To resolve this issue, you need to manually recreate the missing registry key and its corresponding values.

Let me know if you’d like more detailed instructions on how to manually recreate the sshd registry key. I can provide specific steps based on your operating system.

Here the the default sshd registry:

• openssh-ssh-server-registry.reg