diff --git a/Source/ObjectiveC2/Availability.h b/Source/ObjectiveC2/Availability.h
index 81d4cf952..c8fe3677e 100644
--- a/Source/ObjectiveC2/Availability.h
+++ b/Source/ObjectiveC2/Availability.h
@@ -1,12 +1,17 @@
 
 #ifdef STRICT_MACOS_X
-#	define OBJC_NONPORTABLE __attribute__((error("Function not supported by the Apple runtime")))
+#  define OBJC_NONPORTABLE __attribute__((error("Function not supported by the Apple runtime")))
 #else
-#	define OBJC_NONPORTABLE
+#  define OBJC_NONPORTABLE
 #endif
 
 #if !defined(__DEPRECATE_DIRECT_ACCESS) || defined(__OBJC_LEGACY_GNU_MODE__) || defined(__OBJC_RUNTIME_INTERNAL__)
-#	define OBJC_DEPRECATED
+#  define OBJC_DEPRECATED
 #else
-#	define OBJC_DEPRECATED __attribute__((deprecated))
+#  if ((__GNUC__ > 3) || (__GNUC__ == 3 && __GNUC_MINOR >= 1))
+#    define OBJC_DEPRECATED __attribute__((deprecated))
+#  else
+#    define OBJC_DEPRECATED
+#  endif
 #endif
+
diff --git a/Source/ObjectiveC2/Makefile.preamble b/Source/ObjectiveC2/Makefile.preamble
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..319838aff
--- /dev/null
+++ b/Source/ObjectiveC2/Makefile.preamble
@@ -0,0 +1,67 @@
+#
+#  Makefile.preamble
+#
+#  Copyright (C) 2010 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
+#
+#  Author: Scott Christley <scottc@net-community.com>
+#
+#  This file is part of the GNUstep Base Library.
+#
+#  This library is free software; you can redistribute it and/or
+#  modify it under the terms of the GNU Lesser General Public
+#  License as published by the Free Software Foundation; either
+#  version 2 of the License, or (at your option) any later version.
+#
+#  This library is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
+#  but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
+#  MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.	 See the GNU
+#  Library General Public License for more details.
+#
+#  If you are interested in a warranty or support for this source code,
+#  contact Scott Christley at scottc@net-community.com
+#
+#  You should have received a copy of the GNU Lesser General Public
+#  License along with this library; see the file COPYING.LIB.
+#  If not, write to the Free Software Foundation,
+#  51 Franklin Street, Fifth Floor, Boston, MA 02110-1301, USA.
+
+#
+#   Makefile.preamble
+#
+#   Project specific makefile variables
+#
+#   Do not put any Makefile rules in this file, instead they should
+#   be put into Makefile.postamble.
+#
+
+#
+# Flags dealing with compiling and linking
+#
+
+# Additional flags to pass to the preprocessor
+ADDITIONAL_CPPFLAGS = $(DEFS) $(CONFIG_SYSTEM_DEFS) -Wall
+
+# Additional flags to pass to the Objective-C compiler
+#ADDITIONAL_OBJCFLAGS = 
+
+ifeq ($(GNUSTEP_TARGET_OS),mingw32)
+  ADDITIONAL_OBJCFLAGS += -DBUILD_libgnustep_base_DLL=1
+endif
+ifeq ($(GNUSTEP_TARGET_OS),cygwin)
+  ADDITIONAL_OBJCFLAGS += -DBUILD_libgnustep_base_DLL=1
+endif
+
+# Additional flags to pass to the C compiler
+ADDITIONAL_CFLAGS = 
+
+# Additional include directories the compiler should search
+# FIXME - the -I../ is for GSPrivate.h
+ADDITIONAL_INCLUDE_DIRS = -I../../Headers/Additions \
+     -I../$(GNUSTEP_TARGET_DIR) -I../
+
+ifeq ($(FOUNDATION_LIB),gnu)
+  ADDITIONAL_INCLUDE_DIRS += -I../../Headers
+endif
+
+# Additional LDFLAGS to pass to the linker
+ADDITIONAL_LDFLAGS = 
diff --git a/Source/ObjectiveC2/blocks_runtime.m b/Source/ObjectiveC2/blocks_runtime.m
index b6671a951..25e0151da 100644
--- a/Source/ObjectiveC2/blocks_runtime.m
+++ b/Source/ObjectiveC2/blocks_runtime.m
@@ -200,6 +200,16 @@ struct StackBlockClass {
   const char *types;
 };
 
+#if	defined(__MINGW32__)
+/* FIXME ... evil hack ... declare symbol to avoid linker error on windows
+ * where the compiler/linker doesn't support a weak reference.
+ * This obviously breaks the code below...
+ */
+#  if (__GNUC__ <= 3)
+void *_NSConcreteStackBlock;
+#  endif
+#endif
+
 
 /* Copy a block to the heap if it's still on the stack or
  * increments its retain count.
diff --git a/Source/ObjectiveC2/runtime.c b/Source/ObjectiveC2/runtime.c
index 016faf9d7..bb096bba1 100644
--- a/Source/ObjectiveC2/runtime.c
+++ b/Source/ObjectiveC2/runtime.c
@@ -520,7 +520,7 @@ class_setIvarLayout(Class cls, const char *layout)
   memcpy(cls->ivars, list, listsize);
 }
 
-__attribute__((deprecated))
+OBJC_DEPRECATED
 Class
 class_setSuperclass(Class cls, Class newSuper)
 {
diff --git a/Source/ObjectiveC2/runtime.h b/Source/ObjectiveC2/runtime.h
index 695f5a40a..63b783dac 100644
--- a/Source/ObjectiveC2/runtime.h
+++ b/Source/ObjectiveC2/runtime.h
@@ -3,10 +3,16 @@
 #include <sys/types.h>
 
 #ifdef ERROR_UNSUPPORTED_RUNTIME_FUNCTIONS
-#	define OBJC_GNU_RUNTIME_UNSUPPORTED(x) \
-		__attribute__((error(x " not supported by the GNU runtime")))
+#  define OBJC_GNU_RUNTIME_UNSUPPORTED(x) \
+ __attribute__((error(x " not supported by the GNU runtime")))
 #else
-#	define OBJC_GNU_RUNTIME_UNSUPPORTED(x)
+#  define OBJC_GNU_RUNTIME_UNSUPPORTED(x)
+#endif
+
+#if ((__GNUC__ > 3) || (__GNUC__ == 3 && __GNUC_MINOR >= 1))
+#  define OBJC_DEPRECATED __attribute__((deprecated))
+#else
+#  define OBJC_DEPRECATED
 #endif
 
 // Undo GNUstep substitutions
@@ -153,7 +159,7 @@ BOOL class_respondsToSelector(Class cls, SEL sel);
 
 void class_setIvarLayout(Class cls, const char *layout);
 
-__attribute__((deprecated))
+OBJC_DEPRECATED
 Class class_setSuperclass(Class cls, Class newSuper);
 
 void class_setVersion(Class theClass, int version);