diff --git a/indra/develop.py b/indra/develop.py
index eaecdd0ab662a6baa9db79ca59aa40fc55a6a040..b8fdd1a81507726073f28e8a3c1c5b2ea26ab883 100755
--- a/indra/develop.py
+++ b/indra/develop.py
@@ -41,6 +41,7 @@
 import socket
 import sys
 import commands
+import subprocess
 
 class CommandError(Exception):
     pass
@@ -504,7 +505,7 @@ def _get_generator(self):
                     break
             else:
                 print >> sys.stderr, 'Cannot find a Visual Studio installation!'
-                eys.exit(1)
+                sys.exit(1)
         return self._generator
 
     def _set_generator(self, gen):
@@ -573,29 +574,30 @@ def get_build_cmd(self):
             if self.gens[self.generator]['ver'] in [ r'8.0', r'9.0' ]:
                 config = '\"%s|Win32\"' % config
 
-            return "buildconsole %(prj)s.sln /build /cfg=%(cfg)s" % {'prj': self.project_name, 'cfg': config}
+            executable = 'buildconsole'
+            cmd = "%(bin)s %(prj)s.sln /build /cfg=%(cfg)s" % {'prj': self.project_name, 'cfg': config, 'bin': executable}
+            return (executable, cmd)
 
         # devenv.com is CLI friendly, devenv.exe... not so much.
-        return ('"%sdevenv.com" %s.sln /build %s' % 
-                (self.find_visual_studio(), self.project_name, self.build_type))
-        #return ('devenv.com %s.sln /build %s' % 
-        #        (self.project_name, self.build_type))
+        executable = '%sdevenv.com' % (self.find_visual_studio(),)
+        cmd = ('"%s" %s.sln /build %s' % 
+                (executable, self.project_name, self.build_type))
+        return (executable, cmd)
 
     def run(self, command, name=None, retry_on=None, retries=1):
         '''Run a program.  If the program fails, raise an exception.'''
+        assert name is not None, 'On windows an executable path must be given in name.'
+        if os.path.isfile(name):
+            path = name
+        else:
+            path = self.find_in_path(name)[0]
         while retries:
             retries = retries - 1
             print "develop.py tries to run:", command
-            ret = os.system(command)
+            ret = subprocess.call(command, executable=path)
             print "got ret", ret, "from", command
             if ret:
-                if name is None:
-                    name = command.split(None, 1)[0]
-                path = self.find_in_path(name)
-                if not path:
-                    error = 'was not found'
-                else:
-                    error = 'exited with status %d' % ret
+                error = 'exited with status %d' % ret
                 if retry_on is not None and retry_on == ret:
                     print "Retrying... the command %r %s" % (name, error)
                 else:
@@ -617,18 +619,19 @@ def run_vstool(self):
             if prev_build == self.build_type:
                 # Only run vstool if the build type has changed.
                 continue
-            vstool_cmd = (os.path.join('tools','vstool','VSTool.exe') +
+            executable = os.path.join('tools','vstool','VSTool.exe')
+            vstool_cmd = (executable +
                           ' --solution ' +
                           os.path.join(build_dir,'SecondLife.sln') +
                           ' --config ' + self.build_type +
                           ' --startup secondlife-bin')
             print 'Running %r in %r' % (vstool_cmd, getcwd())
-            self.run(vstool_cmd)        
+            self.run(vstool_cmd, name=executable)        
             print >> open(stamp, 'w'), self.build_type
         
     def run_build(self, opts, targets):
         cwd = getcwd()
-        build_cmd = self.get_build_cmd()
+        executable, build_cmd = self.get_build_cmd()
 
         for d in self.build_dirs():
             try:
@@ -637,11 +640,11 @@ def run_build(self, opts, targets):
                     for t in targets:
                         cmd = '%s /project %s %s' % (build_cmd, t, ' '.join(opts))
                         print 'Running %r in %r' % (cmd, d)
-                        self.run(cmd, retry_on=4, retries=3)
+                        self.run(cmd, name=executable, retry_on=4, retries=3)
                 else:
                     cmd = '%s %s' % (build_cmd, ' '.join(opts))
                     print 'Running %r in %r' % (cmd, d)
-                    self.run(cmd, retry_on=4, retries=3)
+                    self.run(cmd, name=executable, retry_on=4, retries=3)
             finally:
                 os.chdir(cwd)