diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index 2cd1511d..96e94958 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -213,7 +213,7 @@ distclean::
 	rm -f man/ocamlbuild.1
 
 man/options_man.byte: src/ocamlbuild_pack.cmo
-	$(OCAMLC) $^ -I src man/options_man.ml -o man/options_man.byte
+	$(OCAMLC) -I +unix unix.cma $^ -I src man/options_man.ml -o man/options_man.byte
 
 clean::
 	rm -f man/options_man.cm*
diff --git a/plugin-lib/ocamlbuild_executor.ml b/plugin-lib/ocamlbuild_executor.ml
index 8e5b0977..0013a149 100644
--- a/plugin-lib/ocamlbuild_executor.ml
+++ b/plugin-lib/ocamlbuild_executor.ml
@@ -38,6 +38,8 @@ type job = {
   job_stdin   : out_channel;
   job_stderr  : in_channel;
   job_buffer  : Buffer.t;
+  job_pid     : int;
+  job_tmp_file: string option;
   mutable job_dying : bool;
 };;
 
@@ -73,13 +75,69 @@ let output_lines prefix oc buffer =
         try String.index_from u i '\n'
         with Not_found -> m
       in
-      output_line i j;
+      (let j = if j > 0 && u.[j-1] = '\r' then j - 1 else j in
+      output_line i j);
       loop (j + 1)
     else
       ()
   in
   loop 0
 ;;
+
+let open_process_full_win cmd env =
+  let (in_read, in_write) = Unix.pipe () in
+  let (out_read, out_write) = Unix.pipe () in
+  let (err_read, err_write) = Unix.pipe () in
+  Unix.set_close_on_exec in_read;
+  Unix.set_close_on_exec out_write;
+  Unix.set_close_on_exec err_read;
+  let inchan = Unix.in_channel_of_descr in_read in
+  let outchan = Unix.out_channel_of_descr out_write in
+  let errchan = Unix.in_channel_of_descr err_read in
+  let shell = Lazy.force Ocamlbuild_pack.My_std.windows_shell in
+  let test_cmd =
+    String.concat " " (List.map Filename.quote (Array.to_list shell)) ^
+    "-ec " ^
+    Filename.quote (Ocamlbuild_pack.My_std.prep_windows_cmd cmd) in
+  let argv,tmp_file =
+    if String.length test_cmd < 7_900 then
+      Array.append
+        shell
+        [| "-ec" ; Ocamlbuild_pack.My_std.prep_windows_cmd cmd |],None
+    else
+    let fln,ch = Filename.open_temp_file ~mode:[Open_binary] "ocamlbuild" ".sh" in
+    output_string ch (Ocamlbuild_pack.My_std.prep_windows_cmd cmd);
+    close_out ch;
+    let fln' = String.map (function '\\' -> '/' | c -> c) fln in
+    Array.append
+      shell
+      [| "-c" ; fln' |], Some fln in
+  let pid =
+    Unix.create_process_env argv.(0) argv env out_read in_write err_write in
+  Unix.close out_read;
+  Unix.close in_write;
+  Unix.close err_write;
+  (pid, inchan, outchan, errchan,tmp_file)
+
+let close_process_full_win (pid,inchan, outchan, errchan, tmp_file) =
+  let delete tmp_file =
+    match tmp_file with
+    | None -> ()
+    | Some x -> try Sys.remove x with Sys_error _ -> () in
+  let tmp_file_deleted = ref false in
+  try
+    close_in inchan;
+    close_out outchan;
+    close_in errchan;
+    let res = snd(Unix.waitpid [] pid) in
+    tmp_file_deleted := true;
+    delete tmp_file;
+    res
+  with
+  | x when tmp_file <> None && !tmp_file_deleted = false ->
+    delete tmp_file;
+    raise x
+
 (* ***)
 (*** execute *)
 (* XXX: Add test for non reentrancy *)
@@ -134,10 +192,16 @@ let execute
   (*** add_job *)
   let add_job cmd rest result id =
     (*display begin fun oc -> fp oc "Job %a is %s\n%!" print_job_id id cmd; end;*)
-    let (stdout', stdin', stderr') = open_process_full cmd env in
+    let (pid,stdout', stdin', stderr', tmp_file) =
+      if Sys.win32 then open_process_full_win cmd env else
+      let a,b,c = open_process_full cmd env in
+      -1,a,b,c,None
+    in
     incr jobs_active;
-    set_nonblock (doi stdout');
-    set_nonblock (doi stderr');
+    if not Sys.win32 then (
+      set_nonblock (doi stdout');
+      set_nonblock (doi stderr');
+    );
     let job =
       { job_id          = id;
         job_command     = cmd;
@@ -147,7 +211,9 @@ let execute
         job_stdin       = stdin';
         job_stderr      = stderr';
         job_buffer      = Buffer.create 1024;
-        job_dying       = false }
+        job_dying       = false;
+        job_tmp_file    = tmp_file;
+        job_pid         = pid }
     in
     outputs := FDM.add (doi stdout') job (FDM.add (doi stderr') job !outputs);
     jobs := JS.add job !jobs;
@@ -203,6 +269,7 @@ let execute
               try
                 read fd u 0 (Bytes.length u)
               with
+              | Unix.Unix_error(Unix.EPIPE,_,_) when Sys.win32 -> 0
               | Unix.Unix_error(e,_,_)  ->
                 let msg = error_message e in
                 display (fun oc -> fp oc
@@ -245,14 +312,19 @@ let execute
       decr jobs_active;
 
       (* PR#5371: we would get EAGAIN below otherwise *)
-      clear_nonblock (doi job.job_stdout);
-      clear_nonblock (doi job.job_stderr);
-
+      if not Sys.win32 then (
+        clear_nonblock (doi job.job_stdout);
+        clear_nonblock (doi job.job_stderr);
+      );
       do_read ~loop:true (doi job.job_stdout) job;
       do_read ~loop:true (doi job.job_stderr) job;
       outputs := FDM.remove (doi job.job_stdout) (FDM.remove (doi job.job_stderr) !outputs);
       jobs := JS.remove job !jobs;
-      let status = close_process_full (job.job_stdout, job.job_stdin, job.job_stderr) in
+      let status =
+        if Sys.win32 then
+          close_process_full_win (job.job_pid, job.job_stdout, job.job_stdin, job.job_stderr, job.job_tmp_file)
+        else
+          close_process_full (job.job_stdout, job.job_stdin, job.job_stderr) in
 
       let shown = ref false in
 
diff --git a/src/command.ml b/src/command.ml
index cc5e6b1d..efbe9cdc 100644
--- a/src/command.ml
+++ b/src/command.ml
@@ -148,9 +148,10 @@ let rec string_of_command_spec_with_calls call_with_tags call_with_target resolv
   let self = string_of_command_spec_with_calls call_with_tags call_with_target resolve_virtuals in
   let b = Buffer.create 256 in
   (* The best way to prevent bash from switching to its windows-style
-   * quote-handling is to prepend an empty string before the command name. *)
+   * quote-handling is to prepend an empty string before the command name.
+   * space seems to work, too - and the ouput is nicer *)
   if Sys.os_type = "Win32" then
-    Buffer.add_string b "''";
+    Buffer.add_char b ' ';
   let first = ref true in
   let put_space () =
     if !first then
@@ -260,7 +261,7 @@ let flatten_commands quiet pretend cmd =
 
 let execute_many ?(quiet=false) ?(pretend=false) cmds =
   add_parallel_stat (List.length cmds);
-  let degraded = !*My_unix.is_degraded || Sys.os_type = "Win32" in
+  let degraded = !*My_unix.is_degraded in
   let jobs = !jobs in
   if jobs < 0 then invalid_arg "jobs < 0";
   let max_jobs = if jobs = 0 then None else Some jobs in
diff --git a/src/findlib.ml b/src/findlib.ml
index 648283f9..57108d1e 100644
--- a/src/findlib.ml
+++ b/src/findlib.ml
@@ -66,9 +66,6 @@ let run_and_parse lexer command =
     (fun command -> lexer & Lexing.from_string & run_and_read command)
     command
 
-let run_and_read command =
-  Printf.ksprintf run_and_read command
-
 let rec query name =
   try
     Hashtbl.find packages name
@@ -135,7 +132,8 @@ let before_space s =
   with Not_found -> s
 
 let list () =
-  List.map before_space (split_nl & run_and_read "%s list" ocamlfind)
+  let cmd = Shell.quote_filename_if_needed ocamlfind ^ " list" in
+  List.map before_space (split_nl & run_and_read cmd)
 
 (* The closure algorithm is easy because the dependencies are already closed
 and sorted for each package. We only have to make the union. We could also
diff --git a/src/main.ml b/src/main.ml
index 6e825d8b..e17e98e5 100644
--- a/src/main.ml
+++ b/src/main.ml
@@ -165,6 +165,9 @@ let proceed () =
               Tags.mem "traverse" tags
               || List.exists (Pathname.is_prefix path_name) !Options.include_dirs
               || List.exists (Pathname.is_prefix path_name) target_dirs)
+            && ((* beware: !Options.build_dir is an absolute directory *)
+              Pathname.normalize !Options.build_dir
+              <> Pathname.normalize (Pathname.pwd/path_name))
           end
         end
       end
diff --git a/src/my_std.ml b/src/my_std.ml
index c5cd6f7a..c3637c78 100644
--- a/src/my_std.ml
+++ b/src/my_std.ml
@@ -275,13 +275,107 @@ let sys_file_exists x =
       try Array.iter (fun x -> if x = basename then raise Exit) a; false
       with Exit -> true
 
+let command_plain = function
+| [| |] -> 0
+| margv ->
+  let rec waitpid a b =
+    match Unix.waitpid a b with
+    | exception (Unix.Unix_error(Unix.EINTR,_,_)) -> waitpid a b
+    | x -> x
+  in
+  let pid = Unix.(create_process margv.(0) margv stdin stdout stderr) in
+  let pid', process_status = waitpid [] pid in
+  assert (pid = pid');
+  match process_status with
+  | Unix.WEXITED n -> n
+  | Unix.WSIGNALED _ -> 2 (* like OCaml's uncaught exceptions *)
+  | Unix.WSTOPPED _ -> 127
+
+(* can't use Lexers because of circular dependency *)
+let split_path_win str =
+  let rec aux pos =
+    try
+      let i = String.index_from str pos ';' in
+      let len = i - pos in
+      if len = 0 then
+        aux (succ i)
+      else
+        String.sub str pos (i - pos) :: aux (succ i)
+    with Not_found | Invalid_argument _ ->
+      let len = String.length str - pos in
+      if len = 0 then [] else [String.sub str pos len]
+  in
+  aux 0
+
+let windows_shell = lazy begin
+  let rec iter = function
+  | [] -> [| "bash.exe" ; "--norc" ; "--noprofile" |]
+  | hd::tl ->
+    let dash = Filename.concat hd "dash.exe" in
+    if Sys.file_exists dash then [|dash|] else
+    let bash = Filename.concat hd "bash.exe" in
+    if Sys.file_exists bash = false then iter tl else
+    (* if sh.exe and bash.exe exist in the same dir, choose sh.exe *)
+    let sh = Filename.concat hd "sh.exe" in
+    if Sys.file_exists sh then [|sh|] else [|bash ; "--norc" ; "--noprofile"|]
+  in
+  split_path_win (try Sys.getenv "PATH" with Not_found -> "") |> iter
+end
+
+let prep_windows_cmd cmd =
+  (* workaround known ocaml bug, remove later *)
+  if String.contains cmd '\t' && String.contains cmd ' ' = false then
+    " " ^ cmd
+  else
+    cmd
+
+let run_with_shell = function
+| "" -> 0
+| cmd ->
+  let cmd = prep_windows_cmd cmd in
+  let shell = Lazy.force windows_shell in
+  let qlen = Filename.quote cmd |> String.length in
+  (* old versions of dash had problems with bs *)
+  try
+    if qlen < 7_900 then
+      command_plain (Array.append shell [| "-ec" ; cmd |])
+    else begin
+      (* it can still work, if the called command is a cygwin tool *)
+      let ch_closed = ref false in
+      let file_deleted = ref false in
+      let fln,ch =
+        Filename.open_temp_file
+          ~mode:[Open_binary]
+          "ocamlbuildtmp"
+          ".sh"
+      in
+      try
+        let f_slash = String.map ( fun x -> if x = '\\' then '/' else x ) fln in
+        output_string ch cmd;
+        ch_closed:= true;
+        close_out ch;
+        let ret = command_plain (Array.append shell [| "-e" ; f_slash |]) in
+        file_deleted:= true;
+        Sys.remove fln;
+        ret
+      with
+      | x ->
+        if !ch_closed = false then
+          close_out_noerr ch;
+        if !file_deleted = false then
+          (try Sys.remove fln with _ -> ());
+        raise x
+    end
+  with
+  | (Unix.Unix_error _) as x ->
+    (* Sys.command doesn't raise an exception, so run_with_shell also won't
+       raise *)
+    Printexc.to_string x ^ ":" ^ cmd |> prerr_endline;
+    1
+
 let sys_command =
-  match Sys.os_type with
-  | "Win32" -> fun cmd ->
-      if cmd = "" then 0 else
-      let cmd = "bash --norc -c " ^ Filename.quote cmd in
-      Sys.command cmd
-  | _ -> fun cmd -> if cmd = "" then 0 else Sys.command cmd
+  if Sys.win32 then run_with_shell
+  else fun cmd -> if cmd = "" then 0 else Sys.command cmd
 
 (* FIXME warning fix and use Filename.concat *)
 let filename_concat x y =
diff --git a/src/my_std.mli b/src/my_std.mli
index 50cffd4c..08194bf9 100644
--- a/src/my_std.mli
+++ b/src/my_std.mli
@@ -69,3 +69,6 @@ val lexbuf_of_string : ?name:string -> string -> Lexing.lexbuf
 
 val split_ocaml_version : (int * int * int * string) option
 (** (major, minor, patchlevel, rest) *)
+
+val windows_shell : string array Lazy.t
+val prep_windows_cmd : string -> string
diff --git a/src/options.ml b/src/options.ml
index 62475efd..7d549daf 100644
--- a/src/options.ml
+++ b/src/options.ml
@@ -174,11 +174,24 @@ let set_build_dir s =
     build_dir := filename_concat (Sys.getcwd ()) s
   else
     build_dir := s
+
+let slashify =
+  if Sys.win32 then fun p -> String.map (function '\\' -> '/' | x -> x) p
+  else fun p ->p
+
+let sb () =
+  match Sys.os_type with
+  | "Win32" ->
+    (try set_binary_mode_out stdout true with _ -> ());
+  | _ -> ()
+
+
 let spec = ref (
     let print_version () =
+      sb ();
       Printf.printf "ocamlbuild %s\n%!" Ocamlbuild_config.version; raise Exit_OK
     in
-    let print_vnum () = print_endline Ocamlbuild_config.version; raise Exit_OK in
+    let print_vnum () = sb (); print_endline Ocamlbuild_config.version; raise Exit_OK in
   Arg.align
   [
    "-version", Unit print_version , " Display the version";
@@ -257,8 +270,8 @@ let spec = ref (
    "-build-dir", String set_build_dir, "<path> Set build directory (implies no-links)";
    "-install-lib-dir", Set_string Ocamlbuild_where.libdir, "<path> Set the install library directory";
    "-install-bin-dir", Set_string Ocamlbuild_where.bindir, "<path> Set the install binary directory";
-   "-where", Unit (fun () -> print_endline !Ocamlbuild_where.libdir; raise Exit_OK), " Display the install library directory";
-   "-which", String (fun cmd -> print_endline (find_tool cmd); raise Exit_OK), "<command> Display path to the tool command";
+   "-where", Unit (fun () -> sb (); print_endline (slashify !Ocamlbuild_where.libdir); raise Exit_OK), " Display the install library directory";
+   "-which", String (fun cmd -> sb (); print_endline (slashify (find_tool cmd)); raise Exit_OK), "<command> Display path to the tool command";
    "-ocamlc", set_cmd ocamlc, "<command> Set the OCaml bytecode compiler";
    "-plugin-ocamlc", set_cmd plugin_ocamlc, "<command> Set the OCaml bytecode compiler \
      used when building myocamlbuild.ml (only)";
diff --git a/src/pathname.ml b/src/pathname.ml
index 779d4611..8763d6bd 100644
--- a/src/pathname.ml
+++ b/src/pathname.ml
@@ -84,6 +84,26 @@ let rec normalize_list = function
   | x :: xs -> x :: normalize_list xs
 
 let normalize x =
+  let x =
+    if Sys.win32 = false then
+      x
+    else
+      let len = String.length x in
+      let b = Bytes.create len in
+      for i = 0 to pred len do
+        match x.[i] with
+        | '\\' -> Bytes.set b i '/'
+        | c -> Bytes.set b i c
+      done;
+      if len > 1 then (
+        let c1 = Bytes.get b 0 in
+        let c2 = Bytes.get b 1 in
+        if c2 = ':' && c1 >= 'a' && c1 <= 'z' &&
+           ( len = 2 || Bytes.get b 2 = '/') then
+          Bytes.set b 0 (Char.uppercase_ascii c1)
+      );
+      Bytes.unsafe_to_string b
+  in
   if Glob.eval not_normal_form_re x then
     let root, paths = split x in
     join root (normalize_list paths)
diff --git a/src/shell.ml b/src/shell.ml
index 41e537f6..d9264c1c 100644
--- a/src/shell.ml
+++ b/src/shell.ml
@@ -24,12 +24,26 @@ let is_simple_filename s =
     | 'a'..'z' | 'A'..'Z' | '0'..'9' | '.' | '-' | '/' | '_' | ':' | '@' | '+' | ',' -> loop (pos + 1)
     | _ -> false in
   loop 0
+
+let generic_quote quotequote s =
+  let l = String.length s in
+  let b = Buffer.create (l + 20) in
+  Buffer.add_char b '\'';
+  for i = 0 to l - 1 do
+    if s.[i] = '\''
+    then Buffer.add_string b quotequote
+    else Buffer.add_char b  s.[i]
+  done;
+  Buffer.add_char b '\'';
+  Buffer.contents b
+let unix_quote = generic_quote "'\\''"
+
 let quote_filename_if_needed s =
   if is_simple_filename s then s
   (* We should probably be using [Filename.unix_quote] except that function
    * isn't exported. Users on Windows will have to live with not being able to
    * install OCaml into c:\o'caml. Too bad. *)
-  else if Sys.os_type = "Win32" then Printf.sprintf "'%s'" s
+  else if Sys.os_type = "Win32" then unix_quote s
   else Filename.quote s
 let chdir dir =
   reset_filesys_cache ();
@@ -37,7 +51,7 @@ let chdir dir =
 let run args target =
   reset_readdir_cache ();
   let cmd = String.concat " " (List.map quote_filename_if_needed args) in
-  if !*My_unix.is_degraded || Sys.os_type = "Win32" then
+  if !*My_unix.is_degraded then
     begin
       Log.event cmd target Tags.empty;
       let st = sys_command cmd in