If you end up trying to setup git on a linux machine, two things:
- setup or have available another linux machine to act as a "client". git on windows with ssh can be a bit fidgety sometimes, and that would help you debug whether it's a client or server issue.
- do look at gitolite for managing the repos [1]. Its "simple" to install, and the features it brings to the table are awesome (from private 'scratch' repos to auth and key management, and several others).