Subject: Re: bug#21727: Tramp hangs in Windows

From: Arni Magnusson <[email-masked]>
Date: Thu, 22 Oct 2015 19:08:39 +0000 (UTC)

>> Alas, I'm not able to determine what is improper about my DNS settings, 
>> if that is the case.

Okay, after more experiments I have found out that the problem is not 
related to DNS settings, after all.

> Well, I don't run Windows personally, so my advice might be wrong. But 
> you could open a cmd.exe window, and try
>
> # ssh -o ControlPath=%C host.does.not.exist
>
> Likely, it will hang for you.

Yes, indeed, that was a useful test. The problem is that Windows XP and 
Windows 7 do not have a built-in ssh command.

What happens when I type ssh on my Windows machines is that it invokes 
some random ssh program that happens to be on my machines, but doesn't 
support the options that Linux users might expect. In other words, calling 
'ssh' on a Windows machine with some options will result in an undefined 
and unpredictable behavior - in my case, hanging.

> An alternative could be to install Emacs 25.0.50. This works pretty 
> stable, and Tramp has changed its test to be used w/o DNS. You find 
> weekly snapshots at <https://sourceforge.net/projects/emacs-bin/>.

That's it. Emacs 25 loads Tramp without getting tangled up in the random 
ssh program that's installed on my machines. I'm sold.

Thanks for your help in identifying and solving the problem,

Arni