I enter the correct password but cannot login!

If you are attempting to SSH to the Comet HPC facility using the connection details we provide, and Comet refuses to allow you to log on, and all of the following are true:

  • You have passed the test, as shown in the HPC Driving Test section
  • You are a member of at least one active HPC Project, as shown in the My HPC Projects section
  • You are using your normal Newcastle University username (not your email address)
  • You are using your normal Newcastle University password

Then it is possible you are using an old password / Windows domain account which is incompatible with the strict encryption algorithms which are enforced on Comet.

If you change or update your password then this will update your Windows account attributes to enable the new encryption flags which are required by Comet (and other modern systems). In most cases this fixes the issue. For most students or staff with recent IT accounts (under 2-3 years old), or those who have recently or frequently changed their password this will not be a problem.

This is likely only to be encountered by those who have had an IT account at Newcastle University for a long period of time and/or have not changed or updated their password recently.

Important Note

This only covers the situation where you are already on a University device, or on Campus, or have already logged on to unix.ncl.ac.uk and cannot SSH to Comet. If you cannot log on to the unix.ncl.ac.uk service then please raise a service request with NUIT about the Unix timesharing service - that service is not operated or supported by the Research Software Engineering team and we cannot assist with it.

Back to FAQ index