>     C:\Documents and Settings\nick\Desktop>gem install rails --remote
>     Attempting remote installation of 'rails'
>     Updating Gem source index for: http://gems.rubyforge.org
>     --> gets stuck here, I let it run for hours with no response
>

a. Updating the Gems source index can take a long time. Try and wait a
few (more) *minutes*.

b. Are you behind a proxy? You should set the --http-proxy command line
option (or .gemrc file option).

HTH,
Assaph