Cygwin does not play well when installed in a path that contains spaces. In this context, be aware that not all Windows paths are equal; e.g. the German “C:\Programme” is actually an alias for “C:\Program Files” (which contains a space). Ideally, install to “C:\Cygwin” to avoid any problems.

For the first installation, do not make any package selections. I have experienced problems with too heavily customized package selections in the past. Just go with the default package selection (but *do* select a mirror close to you as package source).

Once you are done with the installation, and before you start the Cygwin shell the first time, adjust your home path.

By default Cygwin will create your user's home directory in <InstallPath>/home/<UserName>. Usually it is much more convenient to work from your %USERPROFILE% directory – you know, where Windows already created your directories for Documents, Pictures, Videos, Downloads etc.

To change the home location, navigate to <InstallPath>/etc/ and open the file nsswitch.conf in your favorite text editor. Among other things, you will find this line:

# db_home: /home/%U

Change it to:

db_home: /%H

Save the file, and from now on your Cygwin $HOME will be your Windows %USERPROFILE%.