diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index 81afb4a..d32d72a 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -1,2 +1,3 @@
 *.o
 git-crypt
+git-crypt.exe
diff --git a/INSTALL b/INSTALL
index 41049f1..d09f7a4 100644
--- a/INSTALL
+++ b/INSTALL
@@ -70,3 +70,26 @@ and does not currently create key files with restrictive permissions,
 making it unsuitable for use on a multi-user system.  Windows support
 will mature in a future version of git-crypt.  Bug reports and patches
 are most welcome!
+
+Prerequisites:
+
+> This documentation is for 64 bit hosts
+
+Download and install msys2 POSIX compatibility layer from http://msys2.github.io/ (get the `msys2-x86_64-*.exe`)
+
+In the newly installed MSYS2 Shell, invoke the following commands to upgrade to the most recent version:
+
+	$ pacman --sync --refresh --noconfirm pacman
+	$ pacman --sync --sysupgrade --noconfirm
+
+(You might be asked to close the shell and run the sysupgrade command again.)
+
+	$ pacman --sync --refresh --noconfirm \
+			mingw-w64-x86_64-gcc \
+			mingw-w64-x86_64-make \
+			mingw-w64-x86_64-openssl
+
+In MinGW-w64 64-bit Shell:
+
+	$ cd "$YOUR_GIT_CRYPT_DIR"
+	$ make && make install
diff --git a/INSTALL.md b/INSTALL.md
index 7fdb577..7bde204 100644
--- a/INSTALL.md
+++ b/INSTALL.md
@@ -69,3 +69,32 @@ and does not currently create key files with restrictive permissions,
 making it unsuitable for use on a multi-user system.  Windows support
 will mature in a future version of git-crypt.  Bug reports and patches
 are most welcome!
+
+Prerequisites:
+
+> This documentation is for 64 bit hosts
+
+Download and install msys2 POSIX compatibility layer from http://msys2.github.io/ (get the `msys2-x86_64-*.exe`)
+
+In the newly installed MSYS2 Shell, invoke the following commands to upgrade to the most recent version:
+
+```sh
+pacman --sync --refresh --noconfirm pacman
+pacman --sync --sysupgrade --noconfirm
+```
+
+(You might be asked to close the shell and run the sysupgrade command again.)
+
+```sh
+pacman --sync --refresh --noconfirm \
+  mingw-w64-x86_64-gcc \
+  mingw-w64-x86_64-make \
+  mingw-w64-x86_64-openssl
+```
+
+In MinGW-w64 64-bit Shell:
+
+```sh
+cd "$YOUR_GIT_CRYPT_DIR"
+make && make install
+```
diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index dfbf9de..1cb8e8c 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -24,7 +24,13 @@ OBJFILES = \
     fhstream.o
 
 OBJFILES += crypto-openssl.o
-LDFLAGS += -lcrypto
+
+ifeq ($(OS),Windows_NT)
+	CXXFLAGS += -static -static-libgcc
+	LDFLAGS += -lcrypto -lgdi32
+else
+	LDFLAGS += -lcrypto
+endif
 
 XSLTPROC ?= xsltproc
 DOCBOOK_FLAGS += --param man.output.in.separate.dir 1 \
@@ -66,7 +72,7 @@ CLEAN_TARGETS := clean-bin $(CLEAN_MAN_TARGETS-$(ENABLE_MAN))
 clean: $(CLEAN_TARGETS)
 
 clean-bin:
-	rm -f $(OBJFILES) git-crypt
+	rm -f $(OBJFILES) git-crypt git-crypt.exe
 
 clean-man:
 	rm -f man/man1/git-crypt.1