diff --git a/lib/curl_threads.c b/lib/curl_threads.c
index eb07b26731..10a1c6c23f 100644
--- a/lib/curl_threads.c
+++ b/lib/curl_threads.c
@@ -130,7 +130,7 @@ curl_thread_t Curl_thread_create(CURL_THREAD_RETURN_T
                                  (CURL_STDCALL *func) (void *), void *arg)
 {
   curl_thread_t t = CreateThread(NULL, 0, func, arg, 0, NULL);
-  if((t == 0) || (t == LongToHandle(-1L))) {
+  if(!t) {
 #ifdef UNDER_CE
     DWORD gle = GetLastError();
     /* !checksrc! disable ERRNOVAR 1 */