Cannot get msysgit bash prompt.

I saw a similar question while searching, but it didn't have an answer.

I am following the RoR and Git tutorial. I followed all instructions closely and downloaded msysgit 1.8.0 for my Windows 7 laptop.

However, when I run Git Bash, all I get is a blinking cursor ... I waited up to 10 minutes and still all I get is a blinking cursor, it never prompts and won't allow me to type in ... I've uninstalled / reinstalled Git several times and tried several later versions, but still I can't get Git Bash to work.

Does anyone have any ideas on how I can get Git to work? This is my first post here and I am fairly new to programming and so on, so I hope I have provided all the information I need. Thank you for your help.