diff --git a/src/sysinfo.cc b/src/sysinfo.cc
index 922e83ac92..ae6dba90d7 100644
--- a/src/sysinfo.cc
+++ b/src/sysinfo.cc
@@ -15,6 +15,10 @@
 #include "internal_macros.h"
 
 #ifdef BENCHMARK_OS_WINDOWS
+#if !defined(WINVER) || WINVER < 0x0600
+#undef WINVER
+#define WINVER 0x0600
+#endif // WINVER handling
 #include <shlwapi.h>
 #undef StrCat  // Don't let StrCat in string_util.h be renamed to lstrcatA
 #include <versionhelpers.h>