SSH to AWS EC2 issue - key_load_public: No such file or directory
<p>unfortunately 3 hours of googling is not helping me on this one and I'm counting on someone out there who can walk a 'nix noob through all this. </p>

<p><strong>my situation</strong></p>

<p>I have been ssh-ing successfully into my AWS instance from my mac for months. even today it was working. this logically eliminates all the setup-related issues like making sure i have port 22 open, directing to 0.0.0.0/0, having the right username (its ubuntu not ec2-user), having my pem file correctly permissioned, etc. </p>

<p>then my mac hangs, i restart the mac, and suddenly i can no longer ssh. i can't even ssh in through the java client launched straight from the aws console. utilization and other status checks on the aws console look fine.</p>

<p>here is my -vvv with personal info replaced:</p>

<pre><code>OpenSSH_6.9p1, LibreSSL 2.1.8
debug1: Reading configuration data /etc/ssh/ssh_config
debug1: /etc/ssh/ssh_config line 21: Applying options for *
debug2: ssh_connect: needpriv 0
debug1: Connecting to &lt;myip&gt; [&lt;myip&gt;] port 22.
debug1: Connection established.
debug1: key_load_public: No such file or directory
debug1: identity file /Users/&lt;myfilepath&gt;/ipythonswyx1.pem type -1
debug1: key_load_public: No such file or directory
debug1: identity file /Users/&lt;myfilepath&gt;/ipythonswyx1.pem-cert type -1
debug1: Enabling compatibility mode for protocol 2.0
debug1: Local version string SSH-2.0-OpenSSH_6.9
ssh_exchange_identification: read: Operation timed out
</code></pre>

<p>i figure it is fairly obvious that <strong>debug1: key_load_public: No such file or directory</strong> is the problem here. however a) why would this suddenly stop working? b) even after i chmodded the pem file again, it is still showing this error?</p>

<p>the only other solution i can find online is to delete this instance and just re set up from scratch - i would very much like to keep this instance.</p>

<p>can you please suggest things i should google or any other diagnostics i can run? the problem with being such a n00b is i dont even know the right questions to ask or how to describe my problem other than "this thing that worked now doesnt work and i have no freaking idea why". HELP.</p>