diff --git a/configure b/configure
index cc4ff9b77c..fd04766410 100755
--- a/configure
+++ b/configure
@@ -648,10 +648,11 @@ EOF
         case $? in
             4) hostlongbits="32";;
             8) hostlongbits="64";;
-            *) echo "Couldn't determine bits per long value";;
+            *) echo "Couldn't determine bits per long value"; exit 1;;
         esac
     else
         echo hostlongbits test failed
+        exit 1
     fi
 fi