diff --git a/crates/neon-build/src/lib.rs b/crates/neon-build/src/lib.rs
index 1280bc30f..995d434c4 100644
--- a/crates/neon-build/src/lib.rs
+++ b/crates/neon-build/src/lib.rs
@@ -22,6 +22,11 @@ cfg_if! {
             println!("cargo:rustc-link-search=native={}", &node_lib_path.display());
             println!("cargo:rustc-link-lib={}", &node_lib_file_path.file_stem().unwrap().to_str().unwrap());
 
+            if cfg!(target_env = "msvc") && debug
+            {
+                println!("cargo:rustc-link-lib=msvcrtd");
+            }
+
             // Link `win_delay_load_hook.obj` for windows electron
             let node_runtime_env = "npm_config_runtime";
             println!("cargo:rerun-if-env-changed={}", node_runtime_env);
diff --git a/src/lib.rs b/src/lib.rs
index c6c33b717..e4bfb1516 100644
--- a/src/lib.rs
+++ b/src/lib.rs
@@ -352,9 +352,6 @@ macro_rules! neon_stringify {
     }
 }
 
-#[cfg(all(windows, not(neon_profile = "release")))]
-compile_error!("Neon only builds with --release. For tests, try `cargo test --release`.");
-
 #[cfg(test)]
 mod tests {
     extern crate rustversion;