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If you’re having trouble connecting to an old EC2 instance using SSH or EC2 Instance Connect, but newer instances in the same account and region are working fine, the problem is likely inside the instance itself, not with AWS or your network setup.
Both SSH and EC2 Instance Connect need a healthy SSH service running on the instance. If the SSH daemon (sshd) isn’t working, or if the disk is full, or if the operating system is crashing, then you won’t be able to connect with either method.
Here’s a simple way to fix the issue without rebuilding the entire server:
1. First, stop the problematic EC2 instance.
2. Detach its root EBS volume from that instance.
3. Connect this volume to a different, working EC2 instance that you manage.
4. Once attached, you can either fix the SSH service on the volume’s OS or copy your important files off it.
5. After securing your data or fixing the problem, reattach the volume to the original instance or migrate your data to a new, healthy instance.
This approach is a common and safe way to recover from OS-level issues on EC2 instances.
The reason your new instances are working smoothly is that they come with up-to-date operating system packages and proper support for EC2 Instance Connect. Your network setup—VPC and security groups—is likely fine, which confirms the problem is inside the old instance’s OS.
In summary, when you can’t connect to an older EC2 instance, it’s usually due to a problem inside its operating system. Using EBS volume detachments and snapshots allows you to regain access and save your data without having to rebuild everything from scratch.
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