1 files changed, 2 insertions, 1 deletions
diff --git a/rts/Task.c b/rts/Task.c
index a03ed87651..72147256d8 100644
--- a/rts/Task.c
+++ b/rts/Task.c
@@ -283,7 +283,8 @@ startWorkerTask (Capability *cap,
 
   r = createOSThread(&tid, (OSThreadProc *)taskStart, task);
   if (r != 0) {
-    barf("startTask: Can't create new task");
+    sysErrorBelch("failed to create OS thread");
+    stg_exit(EXIT_FAILURE);
   }
 
   debugTrace(DEBUG_sched, "new worker task (taskCount: %d)", taskCount);