OS: Windows 7 x64  

Cygwin: 1.7.15-1  

OpenSSH: 6.0p1-1  

---

I'm attempting to install an SSH server on Windows 7. The tutorial that I'm following to do this is here: <http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/41560/how-to-get-ssh-command-line-access-to-windows-7-using-cygwin/>

The issue is that upon executing the `net start sshd` command I get the following output:
```
The CYGWIN sshd service is starting.
The CYGWIN sshd service could not be started.
```

The service did not report an error.

More help is available by typing NET HELPMSG 3534.

Here is the full output of the setup:

```

AdminUser@ThisComputer ~
$ ssh-host-config

*** Info: Generating /etc/ssh_host_key
*** Info: Generating /etc/ssh_host_rsa_key
*** Info: Generating /etc/ssh_host_dsa_key
*** Info: Generating /etc/ssh_host_ecdsa_key
*** Info: Creating default /etc/ssh_config file
*** Info: Creating default /etc/sshd_config file
*** Info: Privilege separation is set to yes by default since OpenSSH 3.3.
*** Info: However, this requires a non-privileged account called 'sshd'.
*** Info: For more info on privilege separation read /usr/share/doc/openssh/README.privsep.
*** Query: Should privilege separation be used? (yes/no) yes
*** Info: Note that creating a new user requires that the current account have
*** Info: Administrator privileges.  Should this script attempt to create a
*** Query: new local account 'sshd'? (yes/no) yes
*** Info: Updating /etc/sshd_config file

*** Query: Do you want to install sshd as a service?
*** Query: (Say "no" if it is already installed as a service) (yes/no) yes
*** Query: Enter the value of CYGWIN for the daemon: []
*** Info: On Windows Server 2003, Windows Vista, and above, the
*** Info: SYSTEM account cannot setuid to other users -- a capability
*** Info: sshd requires.  You need to have or to create a privileged
*** Info: account.  This script will help you do so.

*** Info: You appear to be running Windows XP 64bit, Windows 2003 Server,
*** Info: or later.  On these systems, it's not possible to use the LocalSystem
*** Info: account for services that can change the user id without an
*** Info: explicit password (such as passwordless logins [e.g. public key
*** Info: authentication] via sshd).

*** Info: If you want to enable that functionality, it's required to create
*** Info: a new account with special privileges (unless a similar account
*** Info: already exists). This account is then used to run these special
*** Info: servers.

*** Info: Note that creating a new user requires that the current account
*** Info: have Administrator privileges itself.

*** Info: No privileged account could be found.

*** Info: This script plans to use 'cyg_server'.
*** Info: 'cyg_server' will only be used by registered services.
*** Query: Do you want to use a different name? (yes/no) no
*** Query: Create new privileged user account 'cyg_server'? (yes/no) yes
*** Info: Please enter a password for new user cyg_server.  Please be sure
*** Info: that this password matches the password rules given on your system.
*** Info: Entering no password will exit the configuration.
*** Query: Please enter the password:
*** Query: Reenter:

*** Info: User 'cyg_server' has been created with password '[CENSORED]'.
*** Info: If you change the password, please remember also to change the
*** Info: password for the installed services which use (or will soon use)
*** Info: the 'cyg_server' account.

*** Info: Also keep in mind that the user 'cyg_server' needs read permissions
*** Info: on all users' relevant files for the services running as 'cyg_server'.
*** Info: In particular, for the sshd server all users' .ssh/authorized_keys
*** Info: files must have appropriate permissions to allow public key
*** Info: authentication. (Re-)running ssh-user-config for each user will set
*** Info: these permissions correctly. [Similar restrictions apply, for
*** Info: instance, for .rhosts files if the rshd server is running, etc].

*** Info: The sshd service has been installed under the 'cyg_server'
*** Info: account.  To start the service now, call `net start sshd' or
*** Info: `cygrunsrv -S sshd'.  Otherwise, it will start automatically
*** Info: after the next reboot.

*** Info: Host configuration finished. Have fun!

AdminUser@ThisComputer ~
$ net start sshd
The CYGWIN sshd service is starting.
The CYGWIN sshd service could not be started.

The service did not report an error.

More help is available by typing NET HELPMSG 3534.

```

Note that on the line `*** Query: Enter the value of CYGWIN for the daemon: []` I haven't entered anything. Tutorials often say to use `ntsec` or `ntsec tty` here but those options are removed from the latest version of OpenSSH. I've tried using them anyway and the result is the same.

The file `/var/log/sshd.log` is empty. If I try just running the command `/usr/sbin/sshd` I get the output `/var/empty must be owned by root and not group or world-writable.`. The /var/empty directory has the following permissions: `drwxr-xr-x+ 1 cyg_server root 0 May 29 15:28 empty`. Google searches on this error did not turn up any working fixes. One person seems to have solved it by using the command `chown SYSTEM /var/empty` but that did not fix it in my case.