PuTTY semi-bug needs-removeable-media

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We've had several reports of trouble where PuTTY will not start (a session, it sounds like, rather than at all) unless there is a disc in a drive with removeable media: "There is no disk in the drive. Please insert a disk into drive D:" (In all reports that have specified, it has been D: rather than another drive, but of course that's the most common removeable drive letter.) There's no obvious reason for this, such as a path set in the configuration or shortcut that refers to the removeable drive.

We've not run into this ourselves, or been able to reproduce it.

This is vaguely reminiscent of `pageant-dirhandle', but probably not the same thing.

The earliest version this has been reported with is 0.61. Guesses at some things that changed in 0.61 that might possibly be relevant:

• Addition of GSSAPI support. (Due to DLL hijacking countermeasures, this looks for MIT Kerberos in an installation directory retrieved from the Registry.)
• Windows 7 jump lists. (All reports that have specified an OS have been with Windows 7.)

Reports:

• 76179E18B340E04CA376B95E510416FEAB8719@nasanexd01d.na.qualcomm.com (Jan 2012, 0.61 on Windows 7)
  Error message "when trying to open a session"
  "still happens on a profile that I've asked not to use the GSSAPI"
  Workaround: "From the device manager, I disabled the cd drive and then putty ran fine. I re-enabled the cd drive and putty ran fine. So that must have cleared some setting or data somewhere in windows."
• 9a3ca081-3c9d-4ff1-b109-30bb6edb20db@h6g2000yqk.googlegroups.com (Jan 2012)
  Reboot made issue apparently go away
• 50EB2A5D03FF4848A90AC0217EE38965029B132F@corpatsmail4.corp.sensis.com (Feb 2013, 0.62/2013-02-25 on Windows 7
  "How to cause issue:
  Insert ANY cd into computer run it and eject CD
  Open PuTTY
  Load a Profile
  Get No Disk Error
  Rebooting or inserting ANY cd will fix the issue
  We are experiencing this issue on all of our computers."
• 536278DB.7070801@klpd-uli.nl (May 2014, Windows 7 Ultimate)
  "When I am starting putty"
  Drive itself is removeable; no problem if it is absent
• 54DBE295.2060903@shopsite.com (Feb 2015, 0.63 on Win 7 Professional)
  "if I ever launch putty with a CD or DVD in the drive, putty then requires a CD or DVD to be present in the drive to make a connection until I reboot without a CD or DVD in." Have to reboot to clear the condition.

Audit trail for this semi-bug.