diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index 1b31db3d0..1da7c6096 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -1,6 +1,10 @@
-include Makefile.config
+-include Makefile.config
 include Makefile.common
 
+ifndef CONFIGURE_RUN
+$(error You must run ./configure first)
+endif
+
 ifneq ($(SYSTEM),Darwin)
 
 TARGETS = .cli
diff --git a/configure b/configure
index b124c7be8..2ece9e791 100755
--- a/configure
+++ b/configure
@@ -292,6 +292,7 @@ lrintf_test
 #
 rm -f Makefile.config
 cat > Makefile.config << EOF
+CONFIGURE_RUN  = yes
 SYSTEM         = $SYSTEM
 BEOS_NETSERVER = $BEOS_NETSERVER
 PTHREAD        = $PTHREAD