diff --git a/icu4c/source/Doxyfile.in b/icu4c/source/Doxyfile.in
index 6e660f05766..002ba8bec82 100644
--- a/icu4c/source/Doxyfile.in
+++ b/icu4c/source/Doxyfile.in
@@ -198,7 +198,7 @@ SKIP_FUNCTION_MACROS   = YES
 # Configuration::additions related to external references   
 #---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 TAGFILES               = 
-GENERATE_TAGFILE       =  "@srcdir@/doc/html/icudocs.tag"
+GENERATE_TAGFILE       =  "@builddir@/doc/html/icudocs.tag"
 ALLEXTERNALS           = NO
 EXTERNAL_GROUPS        = YES
 PERL_PATH              = /usr/bin/perl
diff --git a/icu4c/source/Makefile.in b/icu4c/source/Makefile.in
index b2492a63349..a1de3e5f3d5 100644
--- a/icu4c/source/Makefile.in
+++ b/icu4c/source/Makefile.in
@@ -71,7 +71,7 @@ install: install-recursive install-local
 clean: clean-recursive-with-twist clean-local
 distclean : distclean-recursive distclean-local
 dist: dist-recursive dist-local
-check: all check-recursive check-local
+check: all check-recursive
 check-recursive: all
 
 ifeq ($(DOXYGEN),)
@@ -165,7 +165,12 @@ distclean-local: clean-local
 	$(RMV) config.cache config.log config.status
 	$(RMV) Makefile config/Makefile icudefs.mk $(LIBDIR) $(BINDIR)
 
-check-local:
+check-local: $(top_builddir)/config/icu-config $(top_builddir)/config/Makefile.inc
+	@echo verifying that icu-config --selfcheck can operate
+	@test "passed" = "$(shell $(top_builddir)/config/icu-config --selfcheck 2>&1)" || (echo "FAIL: icu-config could not run properly." ; exit 1)
+	@echo verifying that $(MAKE) -f Makefile.inc selfcheck can operate
+	@test "passed" = "$(shell $(MAKE) --no-print-directory -f $(top_builddir)/config/Makefile.inc SELFCHECK=1 selfcheck)" || (echo "FAIL: Makefile.inc could not run properly." ; exit 1 )
+	@echo "PASS: config selfcheck OK"
 
 #$(srcdir)/configure : $(srcdir)/configure.in $(top_srcdir)/aclocal.m4
 #	cd $(srcdir) && $(AUTOCONF)
diff --git a/icu4c/source/config/Makefile.inc.in b/icu4c/source/config/Makefile.inc.in
index 9eb446b01de..d7dfdbeeb2c 100644
--- a/icu4c/source/config/Makefile.inc.in
+++ b/icu4c/source/config/Makefile.inc.in
@@ -273,6 +273,13 @@ GENCCODE_ASSEMBLY = @GENCCODE_ASSEMBLY@
 # The mh- file ("make fragment") for the platform is included here. 
 # It may override the above settings.
 # It is put last so that the mh-file can override anything.
+# The selfcheck is just a sanity check that this makefile is
+# parseable. The mh fragment is only included if this does not occur.
 
+ifeq (selfcheck,$(MAKECMDGOALS)) #M#
+selfcheck: #M#
+	@echo passed #M#
+else #M#
 include $(pkgdatadir)/config/@platform_make_fragment_name@
+endif #M#
 
diff --git a/icu4c/source/config/icu-config-bottom b/icu4c/source/config/icu-config-bottom
index 6dfb9675ab2..7b459b29689 100644
--- a/icu4c/source/config/icu-config-bottom
+++ b/icu4c/source/config/icu-config-bottom
@@ -120,6 +120,14 @@ esac
 # ALWAYS load twice because of dependencies
 loaddefs
 loaddefs
+
+if [ $1 = "--selfcheck" ];
+then
+	echo "passed"
+	exit 
+	# EXIT for self check
+fi
+
 sanity
 
 while [ $# -gt 0 ];
@@ -320,11 +328,11 @@ do
 	    ;;
 
 	--version)
-        echo $VERSION
+        echo $ECHO_N $VERSION
         ;;
 
     --unicode-version)
-        echo $UNICODE_VERSION
+        echo $ECHO_N $UNICODE_VERSION
         ;;
 
 	--help)
diff --git a/icu4c/source/config/mh-cygwin b/icu4c/source/config/mh-cygwin
index aa58e0e9611..e7f46863b14 100644
--- a/icu4c/source/config/mh-cygwin
+++ b/icu4c/source/config/mh-cygwin
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 ## -*-makefile-*-
 ## Cygwin-specific setup
-## Copyright (c) 2001-2006, International Business Machines Corporation and
+## Copyright (c) 2001-2008, International Business Machines Corporation and
 ## others. All Rights Reserved.
 
 ## Commands to generate dependency files
@@ -30,8 +30,15 @@ LINK.c=       $(CXX) $(CXXFLAGS) $(LDFLAGS)
 #LINK.cc=      $(CXX) $(CXXFLAGS) $(LDFLAGS)
 
 ## Commands to make a shared library
-SHLIB.c=	$(CC) $(CFLAGS) $(LDFLAGS) -shared
-SHLIB.cc=	$(CXX) $(CXXFLAGS) $(LDFLAGS) -shared
+# $(subst) won't work in shell script.  #M# at the end omits these
+# lines from the shell script (Make only)
+SHLIB.c=	$(CC) $(CFLAGS) $(LDFLAGS) -shared -Wl,--enable-auto-import -Wl,--out-implib=$(subst cyg,lib,$@).$(A)#M#
+SHLIB.cc=	$(CXX) $(CXXFLAGS) $(LDFLAGS) -shared -Wl,--enable-auto-import -Wl,--out-implib=$(subst cyg,lib,$@).$(A)#M#
+# the #SH# lines don't go through further postprocessing. 
+# so, they must be valid shell script starting from column 4
+#SH#SHLIB_c="$(CC) $(CFLAGS) $(LDFLAGS) -shared "
+#SH#SHLIB_cc="$(CXX) $(CXXFLAGS) $(LDFLAGS) -shared "
+
 
 ## Compiler switch to embed a runtime search path
 LD_RPATH=	
@@ -45,6 +52,8 @@ SO = dll
 ## Non-shared intermediate object suffix
 STATIC_O = ao
 LIBICU = cyg$(ICUPREFIX)
+## To have an import library is better on Cygwin
+IMPORT_LIB_EXT = .dll.a
 
 # Change the stubnames so that poorly working FAT disks and installation programs can work.
 # This is also for backwards compatibility.
@@ -81,6 +90,10 @@ I18N_STUBNAME = in
 FINAL_SO_TARGET=$(basename $(SO_TARGET))$(SO_TARGET_VERSION_MAJOR).$(SO)
 MIDDLE_SO_TARGET=$(FINAL_SO_TARGET)
 
+IMPORT_LIB = $(subst cyg,lib,$(FINAL_SO_TARGET)).$(A)#M#
+MIDDLE_IMPORT_LIB = $(subst cyg,lib,$(basename $(SO_TARGET)))$(SO_TARGET_VERSION_MAJOR).$(SO).$(A)#M#
+FINAL_IMPORT_LIB = $(IMPORT_LIB)#M#
+
 # The following is for Makefile.inc's use.
 ICULIBSUFFIX_VERSION = $(LIB_VERSION_MAJOR)
 
@@ -88,7 +101,7 @@ ICULIBSUFFIX_VERSION = $(LIB_VERSION_MAJOR)
 #%$(SO_TARGET_VERSION_MAJOR).$(SO): %$(SO_TARGET_VERSION).$(SO)
 #	$(RM) $@ && cp ${<F} $@
 %.$(SO): %$(SO_TARGET_VERSION_MAJOR).$(SO)
-	$(RM) $@ && ln -s ${<F} $@
+	$(RM) $(subst cyg,lib,$@).$(A) && ln -s $(subst cyg,lib,${<F}).$(A) $(subst cyg,lib,$@).$(A)
 
 ## Install libraries as executable
 INSTALL-L=$(INSTALL_PROGRAM)
diff --git a/icu4c/source/config/mh-cygwin-msvc b/icu4c/source/config/mh-cygwin-msvc
index 25ee079400c..65e030fa965 100644
--- a/icu4c/source/config/mh-cygwin-msvc
+++ b/icu4c/source/config/mh-cygwin-msvc
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 ## Cygwin with Microsoft Visual C++ compiler specific setup
-## Copyright (c) 2001-2007, International Business Machines Corporation and
+## Copyright (c) 2001-2008, International Business Machines Corporation and
 ## others. All Rights Reserved.
 
 # We install sbin tools into the same bin directory because
@@ -87,7 +87,7 @@ ARFLAGS := /nologo $(ARFLAGS:r=)#M#
 RANLIB = ls -s#M#
 AR_OUTOPT = /OUT:#M#
 
-## An import library is needed for z/OS and MSVC
+## An import library is needed for z/OS, MSVC and Cygwin
 IMPORT_LIB_EXT = .lib
 
 LIBPREFIX=
@@ -183,16 +183,16 @@ MIDDLE_SO_TARGET=$(FINAL_SO_TARGET)
 
 ## Starting in MSVC 2005, manifest files are required. This reduces the obnoxiousness of this feature.
 	POST_SO_BUILD_STEP = @([ -e $<.manifest ] && \
-	( echo Embedding manifest into $< && mt.exe -manifest $<.manifest -outputresource:"$<;2" && rm -rf $<.manifest )) \
+	( echo Embedding manifest into $< && mt.exe -nologo -manifest $<.manifest -outputresource:"$<;2" && rm -rf $<.manifest )) \
 	|| true
-	POST_BUILD_STEP = ([ -e $@.manifest ] && \
-	( echo Embedding manifest into $@ && mt.exe -manifest $@.manifest -outputresource:"$@;1" && rm -rf $@.manifest )) \
+	POST_BUILD_STEP = @([ -e $@.manifest ] && \
+	( echo Embedding manifest into $@ && mt.exe -nologo -manifest $@.manifest -outputresource:"$@;1" && rm -rf $@.manifest )) \
 	|| true
 
 ## Special pkgdata information that is needed
 PKGDATA_VERSIONING = -r $(SO_TARGET_VERSION_MAJOR)
-ICUPKGDATA_INSTALL_DIR = $(shell cygpath -dma $(DESTDIR)$(ICUPKGDATA_DIR))#M#
-ICUPKGDATA_INSTALL_LIBDIR = $(shell cygpath -dma $(DESTDIR)$(libdir))#M#
+ICUPKGDATA_INSTALL_DIR = $(shell mkdir -p  $(DESTDIR)$(ICUPKGDATA_DIR) ;  cygpath -dma $(DESTDIR)$(ICUPKGDATA_DIR))#M#
+ICUPKGDATA_INSTALL_LIBDIR = $(shell mkdir -p  $(DESTDIR)$(libdir) ; cygpath -dma $(DESTDIR)$(libdir))#M#
 
 ## Versioned import library names. The library names are versioned,
 ## but the import libraries do not need versioning.
diff --git a/icu4c/source/data/Makefile.in b/icu4c/source/data/Makefile.in
index 34780b41ffa..41331bff197 100644
--- a/icu4c/source/data/Makefile.in
+++ b/icu4c/source/data/Makefile.in
@@ -183,7 +183,7 @@ install390: package390
 	$(MKINSTALLDIRS) $(TMPDATADIR) $(DESTDIR)$(libdir)
 	$(INVOKE) $(PKGDATA) -s $(BUILDDIR)$(STUB_SUFFIX) -T $(OUTTMPDIR_390STUB) -p $(ICUDATA_NAME)$(STUB_SUFFIX) $(PKGDATA_LIBNAME)$(STUB_SUFFIX) -e $(ICUDATA_ENTRY_POINT) $(OS390LIST) -m dll $(PKGDATA_VERSIONING) -I $(DESTDIR)$(ICUPKGDATA_DIR)
 ifeq ($(PKGDATA_MODE),dll)
-	$(INSTALL-L) $(ICUPKGDATA_OUTDIR)/$(LIB_ICUDATA_NAME)$(STUB_SUFFIX)$(SO_TARGET_VERSION)$(IMPORT_LIB_EXT) $(DESTDIR)$(ICUPKGDATA_DIR)/$(LIB_ICUDATA_NAME)$(STUB_SUFFIX)$(SO_TARGET_VERSION)$(IMPORT_LIB_EXT)
+	$(INSTALL-L) $(ICUPKGDATA_OUTDIR)/$(FINAL_IMPORT_LIB) $(DESTDIR)$(ICUPKGDATA_DIR)/$(FINAL_IMPORT_LIB)
 endif
 
 #### $(LIB_ICUDATA_NAME)$(STUB_SUFFIX) is the subset data for batch mode
@@ -503,7 +503,7 @@ $(RBNF_INDEX_FILE): $(SRCLISTDEPS)
 ### TRANSLIT res
 $(TRANSLITBLDDIR)/%.res: $(TRANSLITSRCDIR)/%.txt  $(BINDIR)/genrb$(EXEEXT) $(DAT_FILES)
 	$(INVOKE) $(BINDIR)/genrb $(GENRBOPTS) -i $(BUILDDIR) -s $(TRANSLITSRCDIR) -d $(TRANSLITBLDDIR) $(<F)
-  
+
 ### normal (locale) res
 all-RES:  $(RES_FILES)
 
@@ -565,7 +565,7 @@ $(INDEX_RES_FILE): $(INDEX_FILE) $(BINDIR)/genrb$(EXEEXT)
 uni-core-data: build-dir $(UNI_CORE_TARGET_DATA)
 	@echo Unicode .icu files built to $(BUILDDIR)
 	@echo Unicode .c source files built to $(OUTTMPDIR)
-	
+
 build-icu4j: all
 	$(MAKE) -C ../tools/genrb $@
 
diff --git a/icu4c/source/tools/pkgdata/dllmode.c b/icu4c/source/tools/pkgdata/dllmode.c
index 9aac5a56d2d..796f4d7abcc 100644
--- a/icu4c/source/tools/pkgdata/dllmode.c
+++ b/icu4c/source/tools/pkgdata/dllmode.c
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 /******************************************************************************
 *
-*   Copyright (C) 2000-2006, International Business Machines
+*   Copyright (C) 2000-2008, International Business Machines
 *   Corporation and others.  All Rights Reserved.
 *
 *******************************************************************************
@@ -257,7 +257,11 @@ void pkg_mode_dll(UPKGOptions *o, FileStream *makefile, UErrorCode *status)
                                      "\t$(INSTALL-L) $(TARGETDIR)/$(FINAL_SO_TARGET) $(INSTALLTO)/$(FINAL_SO_TARGET)\n");
     
     T_FileStream_writeLine(makefile, "ifneq ($(IMPORT_LIB_EXT),)\n");
+#ifdef __CYGWIN__
+    T_FileStream_writeLine(makefile, "\t$(INSTALL-L) $(TARGETDIR)/$(basename $(FINAL_IMPORT_LIB)).a $(INSTALLTO)/$(basename $(FINAL_IMPORT_LIB)).a\n");
+#else
     T_FileStream_writeLine(makefile, "\t$(INSTALL-L) $(TARGETDIR)/$(basename $(FINAL_SO_TARGET))$(IMPORT_LIB_EXT) $(INSTALLTO)/$(basename( $(FINAL_SO_TARGET))$(IMPORT_LIB_EXT)\n");
+#endif
     T_FileStream_writeLine(makefile, "endif\n");
     if (o->version) {
         T_FileStream_writeLine(makefile, "ifneq ($(FINAL_SO_TARGET),$(SO_TARGET))\n");
diff --git a/icu4c/source/tools/pkgdata/pkgdata.c b/icu4c/source/tools/pkgdata/pkgdata.c
index 8bdd9708318..01a3b6cdd78 100644
--- a/icu4c/source/tools/pkgdata/pkgdata.c
+++ b/icu4c/source/tools/pkgdata/pkgdata.c
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 /******************************************************************************
- *   Copyright (C) 2000-2007, International Business Machines
+ *   Copyright (C) 2000-2008, International Business Machines
  *   Corporation and others.  All Rights Reserved.
  *******************************************************************************
  *   file name:  pkgdata.c
@@ -486,6 +486,9 @@ static int executeMakefile(const UPKGOptions *o)
         o->rebuild ? "rebuild"    : "",
         o->install ? "install"    : "",
         o->makeArgs);
+#endif
+#ifdef U_MAKE_IS_NMAKE
+    strcat(cmd, " /NOLOGO");
 #endif
     if(o->verbose) {
         puts(cmd);