diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index 7a0ee780dc..bcf1e9eb29 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -754,7 +754,7 @@ TCLTK_PATH_SQ = $(subst ','\'',$(TCLTK_PATH))
 LIBS = $(GITLIBS) $(EXTLIBS)
 
 BASIC_CFLAGS += -DSHA1_HEADER='$(SHA1_HEADER_SQ)' \
-	-DETC_GITCONFIG='"$(ETC_GITCONFIG_SQ)"' $(COMPAT_CFLAGS)
+	$(COMPAT_CFLAGS)
 LIB_OBJS += $(COMPAT_OBJS)
 
 ALL_CFLAGS += $(BASIC_CFLAGS)
@@ -903,6 +903,9 @@ exec_cmd.o: exec_cmd.c GIT-CFLAGS
 builtin-init-db.o: builtin-init-db.c GIT-CFLAGS
 	$(QUIET_CC)$(CC) -o $*.o -c $(ALL_CFLAGS) -DDEFAULT_GIT_TEMPLATE_DIR='"$(template_dir_SQ)"' $<
 
+config.o: config.c GIT-CFLAGS
+	$(QUIET_CC)$(CC) -o $*.o -c $(ALL_CFLAGS) -DETC_GITCONFIG='"$(ETC_GITCONFIG_SQ)"' $<
+
 http.o: http.c GIT-CFLAGS
 	$(QUIET_CC)$(CC) -o $*.o -c $(ALL_CFLAGS) -DGIT_USER_AGENT='"git/$(GIT_VERSION)"' $<
 
diff --git a/builtin-config.c b/builtin-config.c
index e5e243f27c..f672c9ccca 100644
--- a/builtin-config.c
+++ b/builtin-config.c
@@ -81,7 +81,7 @@ static int get_value(const char* key_, const char* regex_)
 			local = repo_config = xstrdup(git_path("config"));
 		if (home)
 			global = xstrdup(mkpath("%s/.gitconfig", home));
-		system_wide = ETC_GITCONFIG;
+		system_wide = git_etc_gitconfig();
 	}
 
 	key = xstrdup(key_);
@@ -191,7 +191,7 @@ int cmd_config(int argc, const char **argv, const char *prefix)
 			}
 		}
 		else if (!strcmp(argv[1], "--system"))
-			setenv(CONFIG_ENVIRONMENT, ETC_GITCONFIG, 1);
+			setenv(CONFIG_ENVIRONMENT, git_etc_gitconfig(), 1);
 		else if (!strcmp(argv[1], "--file") || !strcmp(argv[1], "-f")) {
 			if (argc < 3)
 				usage(git_config_set_usage);
diff --git a/builtin-fetch-pack.c b/builtin-fetch-pack.c
index bb1742f1a2..807fa93b53 100644
--- a/builtin-fetch-pack.c
+++ b/builtin-fetch-pack.c
@@ -462,34 +462,12 @@ static int sideband_demux(int fd, void *data)
 {
 	int *xd = data;
 
-	close(xd[1]);
 	return recv_sideband("fetch-pack", xd[0], fd, 2);
 }
 
-static void setup_sideband(int fd[2], int xd[2], struct async *demux)
-{
-	if (!use_sideband) {
-		fd[0] = xd[0];
-		fd[1] = xd[1];
-		return;
-	}
-	/* xd[] is talking with upload-pack; subprocess reads from
-	 * xd[0], spits out band#2 to stderr, and feeds us band#1
-	 * through demux->out.
-	 */
-	demux->proc = sideband_demux;
-	demux->data = xd;
-	if (start_async(demux))
-		die("fetch-pack: unable to fork off sideband demultiplexer");
-	close(xd[0]);
-	fd[0] = demux->out;
-	fd[1] = xd[1];
-}
-
 static int get_pack(int xd[2], char **pack_lockfile)
 {
 	struct async demux;
-	int fd[2];
 	const char *argv[20];
 	char keep_arg[256];
 	char hdr_arg[256];
@@ -497,7 +475,20 @@ static int get_pack(int xd[2], char **pack_lockfile)
 	int do_keep = args.keep_pack;
 	struct child_process cmd;
 
-	setup_sideband(fd, xd, &demux);
+	memset(&demux, 0, sizeof(demux));
+	if (use_sideband) {
+		/* xd[] is talking with upload-pack; subprocess reads from
+		 * xd[0], spits out band#2 to stderr, and feeds us band#1
+		 * through demux->out.
+		 */
+		demux.proc = sideband_demux;
+		demux.data = xd;
+		if (start_async(&demux))
+			die("fetch-pack: unable to fork off sideband"
+			    " demultiplexer");
+	}
+	else
+		demux.out = xd[0];
 
 	memset(&cmd, 0, sizeof(cmd));
 	cmd.argv = argv;
@@ -506,7 +497,7 @@ static int get_pack(int xd[2], char **pack_lockfile)
 	if (!args.keep_pack && unpack_limit) {
 		struct pack_header header;
 
-		if (read_pack_header(fd[0], &header))
+		if (read_pack_header(demux.out, &header))
 			die("protocol error: bad pack header");
 		snprintf(hdr_arg, sizeof(hdr_arg), "--pack_header=%u,%u",
 			 ntohl(header.hdr_version), ntohl(header.hdr_entries));
@@ -542,11 +533,10 @@ static int get_pack(int xd[2], char **pack_lockfile)
 		*av++ = hdr_arg;
 	*av++ = NULL;
 
-	cmd.in = fd[0];
+	cmd.in = demux.out;
 	cmd.git_cmd = 1;
 	if (start_command(&cmd))
 		die("fetch-pack: unable to fork off %s", argv[0]);
-	close(fd[1]);
 	if (do_keep && pack_lockfile)
 		*pack_lockfile = index_pack_lockfile(cmd.out);
 
diff --git a/builtin-init-db.c b/builtin-init-db.c
index 763fa55e76..e1393b8d1e 100644
--- a/builtin-init-db.c
+++ b/builtin-init-db.c
@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@
  */
 #include "cache.h"
 #include "builtin.h"
+#include "exec_cmd.h"
 
 #ifndef DEFAULT_GIT_TEMPLATE_DIR
 #define DEFAULT_GIT_TEMPLATE_DIR "/usr/share/git-core/templates"
@@ -131,10 +132,19 @@ static void copy_templates(const char *git_dir, int len, const char *template_di
 	int template_len;
 	DIR *dir;
 
-	if (!template_dir) {
+	if (!template_dir)
 		template_dir = getenv(TEMPLATE_DIR_ENVIRONMENT);
-		if (!template_dir)
-			template_dir = DEFAULT_GIT_TEMPLATE_DIR;
+	if (!template_dir) {
+		/*
+		 * if the hard-coded template is relative, it is
+		 * interpreted relative to the exec_dir
+		 */
+		template_dir = DEFAULT_GIT_TEMPLATE_DIR;
+		if (!is_absolute_path(template_dir)) {
+			const char *exec_path = git_exec_path();
+			template_dir = prefix_path(exec_path, strlen(exec_path),
+						   template_dir);
+		}
 	}
 	strcpy(template_path, template_dir);
 	template_len = strlen(template_path);
diff --git a/cache.h b/cache.h
index 33ebccf48d..a0b93770d4 100644
--- a/cache.h
+++ b/cache.h
@@ -290,6 +290,7 @@ extern int refresh_index(struct index_state *, unsigned int flags, const char **
 
 struct lock_file {
 	struct lock_file *next;
+	int fd;
 	pid_t owner;
 	char on_list;
 	char filename[PATH_MAX];
@@ -556,6 +557,7 @@ extern int git_config_bool(const char *, const char *);
 extern int git_config_set(const char *, const char *);
 extern int git_config_set_multivar(const char *, const char *, const char *, int);
 extern int git_config_rename_section(const char *, const char *);
+extern const char *git_etc_gitconfig(void);
 extern int check_repository_format_version(const char *var, const char *value);
 
 #define MAX_GITNAME (1000)
diff --git a/config.c b/config.c
index 56e99fc0f4..ed96213c44 100644
--- a/config.c
+++ b/config.c
@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@
  *
  */
 #include "cache.h"
+#include "exec_cmd.h"
 
 #define MAXNAME (256)
 
@@ -459,6 +460,21 @@ int git_config_from_file(config_fn_t fn, const char *filename)
 	return ret;
 }
 
+const char *git_etc_gitconfig(void)
+{
+	static const char *system_wide;
+	if (!system_wide) {
+		system_wide = ETC_GITCONFIG;
+		if (!is_absolute_path(system_wide)) {
+			/* interpret path relative to exec-dir */
+			const char *exec_path = git_exec_path();
+			system_wide = prefix_path(exec_path, strlen(exec_path),
+						system_wide);
+		}
+	}
+	return system_wide;
+}
+
 int git_config(config_fn_t fn)
 {
 	int ret = 0;
@@ -471,8 +487,8 @@ int git_config(config_fn_t fn)
 	 * config file otherwise. */
 	filename = getenv(CONFIG_ENVIRONMENT);
 	if (!filename) {
-		if (!access(ETC_GITCONFIG, R_OK))
-			ret += git_config_from_file(fn, ETC_GITCONFIG);
+		if (!access(git_etc_gitconfig(), R_OK))
+			ret += git_config_from_file(fn, git_etc_gitconfig());
 		home = getenv("HOME");
 		filename = getenv(CONFIG_LOCAL_ENVIRONMENT);
 		if (!filename)
diff --git a/git-compat-util.h b/git-compat-util.h
index 86c8962966..79eb10eacb 100644
--- a/git-compat-util.h
+++ b/git-compat-util.h
@@ -67,6 +67,8 @@
 #include <fnmatch.h>
 #include <sys/poll.h>
 #include <sys/socket.h>
+#include <sys/ioctl.h>
+#include <sys/select.h>
 #include <assert.h>
 #include <regex.h>
 #include <netinet/in.h>
diff --git a/git.c b/git.c
index 80c2f14a8b..51ee647295 100644
--- a/git.c
+++ b/git.c
@@ -256,7 +256,7 @@ static int run_command(struct cmd_struct *p, int argc, const char **argv)
 
 	status = p->fn(argc, argv, prefix);
 	if (status)
-		return status;
+		return status & 0xff;
 
 	/* Somebody closed stdout? */
 	if (fstat(fileno(stdout), &st))
diff --git a/help.c b/help.c
index 8217d97787..d340b6a1b6 100644
--- a/help.c
+++ b/help.c
@@ -7,7 +7,6 @@
 #include "builtin.h"
 #include "exec_cmd.h"
 #include "common-cmds.h"
-#include <sys/ioctl.h>
 
 /* most GUI terminals set COLUMNS (although some don't export it) */
 static int term_columns(void)
diff --git a/lockfile.c b/lockfile.c
index 9a1f64d8d7..258fb3f5ef 100644
--- a/lockfile.c
+++ b/lockfile.c
@@ -12,8 +12,10 @@ static void remove_lock_file(void)
 
 	while (lock_file_list) {
 		if (lock_file_list->owner == me &&
-		    lock_file_list->filename[0])
+		    lock_file_list->filename[0]) {
+			close(lock_file_list->fd);
 			unlink(lock_file_list->filename);
+		}
 		lock_file_list = lock_file_list->next;
 	}
 }
@@ -120,8 +122,6 @@ static char *resolve_symlink(char *p, size_t s)
 
 static int lock_file(struct lock_file *lk, const char *path)
 {
-	int fd;
-
 	if (strlen(path) >= sizeof(lk->filename)) return -1;
 	strcpy(lk->filename, path);
 	/*
@@ -130,8 +130,8 @@ static int lock_file(struct lock_file *lk, const char *path)
 	 */
 	resolve_symlink(lk->filename, sizeof(lk->filename)-5);
 	strcat(lk->filename, ".lock");
-	fd = open(lk->filename, O_RDWR | O_CREAT | O_EXCL, 0666);
-	if (0 <= fd) {
+	lk->fd = open(lk->filename, O_RDWR | O_CREAT | O_EXCL, 0666);
+	if (0 <= lk->fd) {
 		if (!lock_file_list) {
 			signal(SIGINT, remove_lock_file_on_signal);
 			atexit(remove_lock_file);
@@ -148,7 +148,7 @@ static int lock_file(struct lock_file *lk, const char *path)
 	}
 	else
 		lk->filename[0] = 0;
-	return fd;
+	return lk->fd;
 }
 
 int hold_lock_file_for_update(struct lock_file *lk, const char *path, int die_on_error)
@@ -163,6 +163,7 @@ int commit_lock_file(struct lock_file *lk)
 {
 	char result_file[PATH_MAX];
 	int i;
+	close(lk->fd);
 	strcpy(result_file, lk->filename);
 	i = strlen(result_file) - 5; /* .lock */
 	result_file[i] = 0;
@@ -194,7 +195,9 @@ int commit_locked_index(struct lock_file *lk)
 
 void rollback_lock_file(struct lock_file *lk)
 {
-	if (lk->filename[0])
+	if (lk->filename[0]) {
+		close(lk->fd);
 		unlink(lk->filename);
+	}
 	lk->filename[0] = 0;
 }
diff --git a/pager.c b/pager.c
index 8bac9d9903..fb7a1a625a 100644
--- a/pager.c
+++ b/pager.c
@@ -1,7 +1,5 @@
 #include "cache.h"
 
-#include <sys/select.h>
-
 /*
  * This is split up from the rest of git so that we might do
  * something different on Windows, for example.
diff --git a/sha1_file.c b/sha1_file.c
index f007874cbb..560c0e0d08 100644
--- a/sha1_file.c
+++ b/sha1_file.c
@@ -86,7 +86,7 @@ int safe_create_leading_directories(char *path)
 	char *pos = path;
 	struct stat st;
 
-	if (*pos == '/')
+	if (is_absolute_path(path))
 		pos++;
 
 	while (pos) {
@@ -253,7 +253,7 @@ static int link_alt_odb_entry(const char * entry, int len, const char * relative
 	int entlen = pfxlen + 43;
 	int base_len = -1;
 
-	if (*entry != '/' && relative_base) {
+	if (!is_absolute_path(entry) && relative_base) {
 		/* Relative alt-odb */
 		if (base_len < 0)
 			base_len = strlen(relative_base) + 1;
@@ -262,7 +262,7 @@ static int link_alt_odb_entry(const char * entry, int len, const char * relative
 	}
 	ent = xmalloc(sizeof(*ent) + entlen);
 
-	if (*entry != '/' && relative_base) {
+	if (!is_absolute_path(entry) && relative_base) {
 		memcpy(ent->base, relative_base, base_len - 1);
 		ent->base[base_len - 1] = '/';
 		memcpy(ent->base + base_len, entry, len);
@@ -333,7 +333,7 @@ static void link_alt_odb_entries(const char *alt, const char *ep, int sep,
 		while (cp < ep && *cp != sep)
 			cp++;
 		if (last != cp) {
-			if ((*last != '/') && depth) {
+			if (!is_absolute_path(last) && depth) {
 				error("%s: ignoring relative alternate object store %s",
 						relative_base, last);
 			} else {
diff --git a/t/t3902-quoted.sh b/t/t3902-quoted.sh
index 245fb3babd..73da45f18c 100755
--- a/t/t3902-quoted.sh
+++ b/t/t3902-quoted.sh
@@ -20,6 +20,13 @@ LF='
 '
 DQ='"'
 
+echo foo > "Name and an${HT}HT"
+test -f "Name and an${HT}HT" || {
+	# since FAT/NTFS does not allow tabs in filenames, skip this test
+	say 'Your filesystem does not allow tabs in filenames, test skipped.'
+	test_done
+}
+
 for_each_name () {
 	for name in \
 	    Name "Name and a${LF}LF" "Name and an${HT}HT" "Name${DQ}" \
diff --git a/t/t5300-pack-object.sh b/t/t5300-pack-object.sh
index ba7579c251..f1106e6542 100755
--- a/t/t5300-pack-object.sh
+++ b/t/t5300-pack-object.sh
@@ -187,49 +187,51 @@ test_expect_success \
 			test-3-${packname_3}.idx'
 
 test_expect_success \
-    'corrupt a pack and see if verify catches' \
+    'verify-pack catches mismatched .idx and .pack files' \
     'cat test-1-${packname_1}.idx >test-3.idx &&
      cat test-2-${packname_2}.pack >test-3.pack &&
      if git verify-pack test-3.idx
      then false
      else :;
-     fi &&
+     fi'
 
-     : PACK_SIGNATURE &&
-     cat test-1-${packname_1}.pack >test-3.pack &&
+test_expect_success \
+    'verify-pack catches a corrupted pack signature' \
+    'cat test-1-${packname_1}.pack >test-3.pack &&
      dd if=/dev/zero of=test-3.pack count=1 bs=1 conv=notrunc seek=2 &&
      if git verify-pack test-3.idx
      then false
      else :;
-     fi &&
+     fi'
 
-     : PACK_VERSION &&
-     cat test-1-${packname_1}.pack >test-3.pack &&
+test_expect_success \
+    'verify-pack catches a corrupted pack version' \
+    'cat test-1-${packname_1}.pack >test-3.pack &&
      dd if=/dev/zero of=test-3.pack count=1 bs=1 conv=notrunc seek=7 &&
      if git verify-pack test-3.idx
      then false
      else :;
-     fi &&
+     fi'
 
-     : TYPE/SIZE byte of the first packed object data &&
-     cat test-1-${packname_1}.pack >test-3.pack &&
+test_expect_success \
+    'verify-pack catches a corrupted type/size of the 1st packed object data' \
+    'cat test-1-${packname_1}.pack >test-3.pack &&
      dd if=/dev/zero of=test-3.pack count=1 bs=1 conv=notrunc seek=12 &&
      if git verify-pack test-3.idx
      then false
      else :;
-     fi &&
+     fi'
 
-     : sum of the index file itself &&
-     l=`wc -c <test-3.idx` &&
+test_expect_success \
+    'verify-pack catches a corrupted sum of the index file itself' \
+    'l=`wc -c <test-3.idx` &&
      l=`expr $l - 20` &&
      cat test-1-${packname_1}.pack >test-3.pack &&
      dd if=/dev/zero of=test-3.idx count=20 bs=1 conv=notrunc seek=$l &&
      if git verify-pack test-3.pack
      then false
      else :;
-     fi &&
-
-     :'
+     fi'
 
 test_expect_success \
     'build pack index for an existing pack' \
diff --git a/t/t5302-pack-index.sh b/t/t5302-pack-index.sh
index 4f58c4c3f9..2a2878b572 100755
--- a/t/t5302-pack-index.sh
+++ b/t/t5302-pack-index.sh
@@ -61,17 +61,33 @@ test_expect_success \
 
 test_expect_success \
     'index v2: force some 64-bit offsets with pack-objects' \
-    'pack3=$(git pack-objects --index-version=2,0x40000 test-3 <obj-list) &&
-     git verify-pack -v "test-3-${pack3}.pack"'
+    'pack3=$(git pack-objects --index-version=2,0x40000 test-3 <obj-list)'
 
+have_64bits=
+if msg=$(git verify-pack -v "test-3-${pack3}.pack" 2>&1) ||
+	! echo "$msg" | grep "pack too large .* off_t"
+then
+	have_64bits=t
+else
+	say "skipping tests concerning 64-bit offsets"
+fi
+
+test "$have_64bits" &&
+test_expect_success \
+    'index v2: verify a pack with some 64-bit offsets' \
+    'git verify-pack -v "test-3-${pack3}.pack"'
+
+test "$have_64bits" &&
 test_expect_failure \
     '64-bit offsets: should be different from previous index v2 results' \
     'cmp "test-2-${pack2}.idx" "test-3-${pack3}.idx"'
 
+test "$have_64bits" &&
 test_expect_success \
     'index v2: force some 64-bit offsets with index-pack' \
     'git-index-pack --index-version=2,0x40000 -o 3.idx "test-1-${pack1}.pack"'
 
+test "$have_64bits" &&
 test_expect_success \
     '64-bit offsets: index-pack result should match pack-objects one' \
     'cmp "test-3-${pack3}.idx" "3.idx"'
@@ -116,11 +132,11 @@ test_expect_failure \
 test_expect_success \
     '[index v2] 1) stream pack to repository' \
     'rm -f .git/objects/pack/* &&
-     git-index-pack --index-version=2,0x40000 --stdin < "test-1-${pack1}.pack" &&
+     git-index-pack --index-version=2 --stdin < "test-1-${pack1}.pack" &&
      git prune-packed &&
      git count-objects | ( read nr rest && test "$nr" -eq 1 ) &&
      cmp "test-1-${pack1}.pack" ".git/objects/pack/pack-${pack1}.pack" &&
-     cmp "test-3-${pack1}.idx"  ".git/objects/pack/pack-${pack1}.idx"'
+     cmp "test-2-${pack1}.idx"  ".git/objects/pack/pack-${pack1}.idx"'
 
 test_expect_success \
     '[index v2] 2) create a stealth corruption in a delta base reference' \
diff --git a/t/t7501-commit.sh b/t/t7501-commit.sh
index 9dba104b1f..31a6f63399 100755
--- a/t/t7501-commit.sh
+++ b/t/t7501-commit.sh
@@ -79,7 +79,8 @@ test_expect_success \
 
 cat >editor <<\EOF
 #!/bin/sh
-sed -i -e "s/a file/an amend commit/g" $1
+sed -e "s/a file/an amend commit/g" < $1 > $1-
+mv $1- $1
 EOF
 chmod 755 editor
 
@@ -98,7 +99,8 @@ test_expect_success \
 
 cat >editor <<\EOF
 #!/bin/sh
-sed -i -e "s/amend/older/g" $1
+sed -e "s/amend/older/g"  < $1 > $1-
+mv $1- $1
 EOF
 chmod 755 editor