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I need to run a program from my windows xP machine thats installed on a remote UNIX machine using MobaXterm but I have very little experience with this sort of thing.

I can login into the machine using ssh and start the program without a problem. That program needs files that I have on my windows computer to process though and I want to copy them over to that remote machine. Unfortunately the drag-and-drop file transfer panel that is mentioned regularly on mobaxterm help sites isn't present and I can't figure out how to make it appear.

Could someone suggest how to get that drag-and-drop panel to appear please? I'm using MobaXterm version 3.0.

Alternatively any explanation on how to transfer these files another way would also be very much appreciated.

Thank you very much for any help you can give.

fizzics
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6 Answers6

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If it still doesn't work when you try all of above methods, try this:

when you creat a Session, change the Advanced SSH setting-->SSH-browser type to SCP, which default is SFTP. . thanks to willfurnass

enter image description here

one
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    This worked for me! I had a slightly different problem; I could see the drag-and-drop panel but when I dropped a file on it, it got stuck at 0%. Changing from SFTP to SCP (enhanced speed) fixed the problem. – benshepherd Apr 09 '19 at 10:53
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    It's much faster too, so I'm not quite sure why this SCP (enhanced speed) isn't the default – G_V Jul 01 '20 at 08:56
  • Is there a way to change the default value? I cannot find one. – Louis Go Oct 04 '21 at 01:31
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Some Linux distributions or some other Unix systems have disabled SSH password authentication by default.

In order for MobaXterm to be able to launch the SFTP browser, you will have to re-enable this feature:

  • Edit the "/etc/ssh/sshd_config" file on your server, and comment the following line: PasswordAuthentication no
  • Restart your SSH server using the following command: /etc/init.d/sshd restart
  • Connect using MobaXterm SSH client and you will notice that the SFTP tab will be correctly launched.

If you can not modify your remote server configuration, you can also perform your file transfers inside MobaXterm terminal using SCP. A sample SCP command would be:

scp -r /drives/c/Some/Place/On/Your/Local/Windows/Drive/ yourlogin@yourserver:/Some/Place/On/Your/Remote/Unix/Server/
Didier
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  • Many thanks for you help. I used the scp command to get what I needed done. Thanks again – fizzics Feb 18 '13 at 17:54
  • I have noticed, also, that the Mobaxterm SFTP browser goes missing when I fire up `ssh-agent` in my login script. Ie, at the bottom of my `.bashrc` I have `eval "$(ssh-agent)"; ssh-add ...` – bishop Aug 21 '14 at 14:03
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Ensure you have "Display SFTP Browser" enabled in your session settings under "Advanced SSH settings".

enter image description here

Occasionally it doesn't reappear, which is solved by a restart MobaXterm.

Nicolas
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    simple restart worked for me. I didn't have to modify anything, I had just lost SFTP tab for some connections. Obquote "have you tried turning off and on again?" :-) – JRobinss May 22 '17 at 13:35
  • v10.5, there is an `SSH-browser type` list box in the same page, works for me after changing it from `SFTP Protocol` to `SCP(enhanced speed)`. – Elinx Oct 23 '18 at 06:42
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    If you don't find the option "Display SFTP browser", you are using a newer version: The is a dropdown select named 'SSH-browser type", make sure to choose 'SFTP protocol'. – Stéphane Gerber Feb 12 '21 at 10:02
  • just restarting works for me – Puneet Verma Aug 10 '22 at 10:25
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Another cause for the lack of sftp panel is if you accidentally enter and store a bad sftp password. MobaXterm then appears to attempt an automatic log in, but silently fails to open the sftp connection.

To fix this, go to Settings>MobaXterm passwords management and delete the offending password. Here's a screenshot of the settings page, showing the password management link.

enter image description here

To be clear, I had already run through the settings mentioned by @Nicolas and @Didier (thanks, guys!). I was able to get the sftp tab when ssh'ing in to other hosts (which didn't have bad passwords stored). And I had in the past seen the sftp pane. This fix solved my problem.

If you've never seen the sftp pane, then try the other suggestions first.

GnomeDePlume
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1

Have you tried:

Turning the program off and on again?

Note: I read this hint in a comment, which saved me from a tidious process of unnecessary fixing mobaXterm, also I am hence not the only one with that behavior. Even though this might be the first thing you already tried, some might not have been trying and haven't been lucky enough to read through the comments - this is for them.

mrk
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0

For the most recent versions, ensure you have selected 'SFTP protocol' in the'SSH-browser' selector: enter image description here

Stéphane Gerber
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