Get “Access is denied” when trying to compile with g++ from command line. Cygwin

Question

I have installed all packages in cygwin. I have also added C:\\cygwin\\bin to my PATH variable. But when I try to compile a c++ file in command line I get the error \'Access

Answer 1

Because c:\cygwin\bin\gcc.exe isn't an executable file, it's a cygwin symbolic link.

$ file /bin/gcc
/bin/gcc: symbolic link to `/etc/alternatives/gcc'
$ file /etc/alternatives/gcc
/etc/alternatives/gcc: symbolic link to `/usr/bin/gcc-4.exe'

The underlying file runs just fine.

C:\cygwin\home\Ben>gcc-4 --version
gcc-4 (GCC) 4.5.0
Copyright (C) 2010 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
This is free software; see the source for copying conditions.  There is NO
warranty; not even for MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.