diff --git a/Modules/main.c b/Modules/main.c
index ee4a1b8..df4c6d8 100644
--- a/Modules/main.c
+++ b/Modules/main.c
@@ -132,6 +132,16 @@
 			(void) PyRun_SimpleFileExFlags(fp, startup, 0, cf);
 			PyErr_Clear();
 			fclose(fp);
+		} else {
+			int save_errno;
+			
+			save_errno = errno;
+			PySys_WriteStderr("Could not open PYTHONSTARTUP\n");
+			errno = save_errno;
+			PyErr_SetFromErrnoWithFilename(PyExc_IOError,
+					startup);
+			PyErr_Print();
+			PyErr_Clear();
 		}
 	}
 }