diff --git a/ChangeLog b/ChangeLog
index 27917581c..21cd6fdb8 100644
--- a/ChangeLog
+++ b/ChangeLog
@@ -18,6 +18,9 @@ Changes
      "minimize" others (eg use stddef.h if only size_t is needed).
    * Change #include lines in test files to use double quotes instead of angle
      brackets for uniformity with the rest of the code.
+   * Building with 'make' on windows now requires Unix utilities in the PATH
+     as well as a Unix shell. This enables more features such as the 'check'
+     target.
 
 = mbed TLS 1.3.10 released 2015-02-09
 Security
diff --git a/README.rst b/README.rst
index 004f09441..5275e1b76 100644
--- a/README.rst
+++ b/README.rst
@@ -35,6 +35,12 @@ In order to run the tests, enter::
 
     make check
 
+If you're building on windows using mingw, msys, or some similar environment, you should define the WINDOWS variable (and possibly the CC variable too), eg::
+
+    make CC=gcc WINDOWS=1
+
+You need to make sure the usual Unix utilities such as `ln` and `rm` are in your PATH and that make has access to a Unix shell.
+
 Depending on your platform, you might run into some issues. Please check the Makefiles in *library/*, *programs/* and *tests/* for options to manually add or remove for specific platforms. You can also check `the mbed TLS Knowledge Base <https://polarssl.org/kb>`_ for articles on your platform or issue.
 
 In case you find that you need to do something else as well, please let us know what, so we can add it to the KB.
diff --git a/library/Makefile b/library/Makefile
index 5575ded45..552cbf221 100644
--- a/library/Makefile
+++ b/library/Makefile
@@ -77,11 +77,7 @@ shared: libpolarssl.so
 
 libpolarssl.a: libmbedtls.a
 	echo "  LN    $@ -> $?"
-ifndef WINDOWS
 	ln -sf $? $@
-else
-	copy /y /b $? $@
-endif
 
 libmbedtls.a: $(OBJS)
 	echo "  AR    $@"
@@ -91,11 +87,7 @@ libmbedtls.a: $(OBJS)
 
 libpolarssl.so: libmbedtls.so
 	echo "  LN    $@ -> $?"
-ifndef WINDOWS
 	ln -sf $? $@
-else
-	copy /y /b $? $@
-endif
 
 libmbedtls.${DLEXT}: $(OBJS)
 	echo "  LD    $@"
@@ -118,9 +110,4 @@ libmbedtls.dll: $(OBJS)
 	$(CC) $(CFLAGS) $(OFLAGS) -c $<
 
 clean:
-ifndef WINDOWS
 	rm -f *.o libpolarssl.* libmbedtls.*
-endif
-ifdef WINDOWS
-	del /Q /F *.o libpolarssl.* libmbedtls.*
-endif
diff --git a/programs/Makefile b/programs/Makefile
index ba8dd316b..802e73c2a 100644
--- a/programs/Makefile
+++ b/programs/Makefile
@@ -242,12 +242,7 @@ x509/cert_req: x509/cert_req.c ../library/libmbedtls.a
 	$(CC) $(CFLAGS) $(OFLAGS) x509/cert_req.c    $(LDFLAGS) -o $@
 
 clean:
-ifndef WINDOWS
 	rm -f $(APPS)
-endif
-ifdef WINDOWS
-	del /S /Q /F *.o *.exe
-endif
 
 list:
 	echo $(APPS)
diff --git a/tests/Makefile b/tests/Makefile
index 6489e52b8..b64eaffcf 100644
--- a/tests/Makefile
+++ b/tests/Makefile
@@ -402,15 +402,9 @@ test_suite_version: test_suite_version.c $(DEP)
 	$(CC) $(CFLAGS) $(OFLAGS) $@.c	$(LDFLAGS) -o $@
 
 clean:
-ifndef WINDOWS
 	rm -f $(APPS) *.c
-endif
-ifdef WINDOWS
-	del /Q /F *.c *.exe
-endif
 
 check: $(APPS)
-ifndef WINDOWS
 	echo "Running checks (Success if all tests PASSED)"
 	RETURN=0;																\
 	for i in $(APPS);														\
@@ -427,4 +421,3 @@ ifndef WINDOWS
 		echo "";															\
 	done;																	\
 	if [ "$$RETURN" -eq 1 ]; then exit 1; fi
-endif