diff --git a/lifecycleScripts/install.js b/lifecycleScripts/install.js
index a07e0335f..d4e31cabd 100755
--- a/lifecycleScripts/install.js
+++ b/lifecycleScripts/install.js
@@ -26,11 +26,13 @@ module.exports = function install() {
   }
 
   return new Promise(function(resolve, reject) {
+    const gypPath = path.join(__dirname, "..", "node_modules", "node-gyp", "bin", "node-gyp.js");
     var spawnedNodePreGyp = spawn(nodePreGyp, args, {
-      env: Object.assign({}, process.env, {
-        npm_config_node_gyp: path.join(__dirname, "..", "node_modules",
-          "node-gyp", "bin", "node-gyp.js")
-      })
+      env: {
+        ...process.env,
+        npm_config_node_gyp: gypPath
+      },
+      shell: process.platform === "win32"
     });
 
     spawnedNodePreGyp.stdout.on("data", function(data) {
@@ -60,6 +62,6 @@ if (require.main === module) {
     .catch(function(e) {
       console.error("[nodegit] ERROR - Could not finish install");
       console.error("[nodegit] ERROR - finished with error code: " + e);
-      process.exit(e);
+      process.exit(1);
     });
 }