diff --git a/ChangeLog b/ChangeLog
index 939a2693..fe5077fa 100644
--- a/ChangeLog
+++ b/ChangeLog
@@ -32,6 +32,8 @@ Changes in 2.0.2-alpha:
  o Add a new evbuffer_peek() interface to inspect data in an evbuffer without removing it.
  o Fix a deadlock when suspending reads in a bufferevent due to a full buffer. (Spotted by Joachim Bauch.)
  o Fix a memory error when freeing a thread-enabled event base with registered events. (Spotted by Joachim Bauch.)
+ o Try to contain degree of failure when running on a win32 version so heavily firewalled that we can't fake a socketpair.
+
 
 Changes in 2.0.1-alpha:
  o free minheap on event_base_free(); from Christopher Layne
diff --git a/WIN32-Code/win32.c b/WIN32-Code/win32.c
index b2dcc959..aa73192f 100644
--- a/WIN32-Code/win32.c
+++ b/WIN32-Code/win32.c
@@ -70,6 +70,7 @@ struct win32op {
 	struct win_fd_set *readset_out;
 	struct win_fd_set *writeset_out;
 	struct win_fd_set *exset_out;
+	unsigned signals_are_broken : 1;
 };
 
 static void *win32_init	(struct event_base *);
@@ -203,7 +204,8 @@ win32_init(struct event_base *_base)
 	winop->readset_out->fd_count = winop->writeset_out->fd_count
 		= winop->exset_out->fd_count = 0;
 
-	evsig_init(_base);
+	if (evsig_init(_base) < 0)
+		winop->signals_are_broken = 1;
 
 	return (winop);
  err:
@@ -223,6 +225,9 @@ win32_add(struct event_base *base, evutil_socket_t fd,
 	struct win32op *win32op = base->evbase;
 	struct idx_info *idx = _idx;
 
+	if ((events & EV_SIGNAL) && win32op->signals_are_broken)
+		return (-1);
+
 	if (!(events & (EV_READ|EV_WRITE)))
 		return (0);
 
diff --git a/evsignal-internal.h b/evsignal-internal.h
index e706f920..00ef89e0 100644
--- a/evsignal-internal.h
+++ b/evsignal-internal.h
@@ -47,7 +47,7 @@ struct evsig_info {
 #endif
 	int sh_old_max;
 };
-void evsig_init(struct event_base *);
+int evsig_init(struct event_base *);
 void evsig_process(struct event_base *);
 void evsig_dealloc(struct event_base *);
 
diff --git a/signal.c b/signal.c
index 15f0dd01..2bbfeb44 100644
--- a/signal.c
+++ b/signal.c
@@ -108,7 +108,7 @@ evsig_cb(evutil_socket_t fd, short what, void *arg)
 #define FD_CLOSEONEXEC(x)
 #endif
 
-void
+int
 evsig_init(struct event_base *base)
 {
 	/*
@@ -117,8 +117,16 @@ evsig_init(struct event_base *base)
 	 * signals that got delivered.
 	 */
 	if (evutil_socketpair(
-		    AF_UNIX, SOCK_STREAM, 0, base->sig.ev_signal_pair) == -1)
+		    AF_UNIX, SOCK_STREAM, 0, base->sig.ev_signal_pair) == -1) {
+#ifdef WIN32
+		/* Make this nonfatal on win32, where sometimes people
+		   have localhost firewalled. */
+		event_sock_warn(1, -1, "%s: socketpair", __func__);
+#else
 		event_sock_err(1, -1, "%s: socketpair", __func__);
+#endif
+		return -1;
+	}
 
 	FD_CLOSEONEXEC(base->sig.ev_signal_pair[0]);
 	FD_CLOSEONEXEC(base->sig.ev_signal_pair[1]);
@@ -136,6 +144,8 @@ evsig_init(struct event_base *base)
 
 	base->evsigsel = &evsigops;
 	base->evsigbase = &base->sig;
+
+	return 0;
 }
 
 /* Helper: set the signal handler for evsignal to handler in base, so that