diff --git a/build_w32.bat b/build_w32.bat
index abe66359..16aa9a44 100755
--- a/build_w32.bat
+++ b/build_w32.bat
@@ -38,6 +38,12 @@ set O=obj
 set ARCH=x64
 set DEBUG=N
 
+if exist maintMakefile (
+    set MAINT=Y
+) else (
+    set MAINT=N
+)
+
 :ParseSW
 if "%1" == "--debug" goto SetDebug
 if "%1" == "--without-guile" goto NoGuile
@@ -72,6 +78,8 @@ shift
 goto ParseSW
 
 :DoneSW
+if "%MAINT%" == "Y" echo - Enabling maintainer mode
+
 if "%COMPILER%" == "gcc" goto FindGcc
 
 :: Find a compiler.  Visual Studio requires a lot of effort to locate :-/.
@@ -151,6 +159,7 @@ set LINKOPTS=
 if "%DEBUG%" == "Y" set OUTDIR=.\WinDebug
 if "%DEBUG%" == "Y" set "OPTS=/Zi /Od /D _DEBUG"
 if "%DEBUG%" == "Y" set LINKOPTS=/DEBUG
+if "%MAINT%" == "Y" set "OPTS=%OPTS% /D MAKE_MAINTAINER_MODE"
 :: Show the compiler version that we found
 :: Unfortunately this also shows a "usage" note; I can't find anything better.
 echo.
@@ -162,6 +171,7 @@ set OUTDIR=.\GccRel
 set OPTS=-O2
 if "%DEBUG%" == "Y" set OPTS=-O0
 if "%DEBUG%" == "Y" set OUTDIR=.\GccDebug
+if "%MAINT%" == "Y" set "OPTS=%OPTS% -DMAKE_MAINTAINER_MODE"
 :: Show the compiler version that we found
 echo.
 %COMPILER% --version
diff --git a/src/main.c b/src/main.c
index afc7fd97..3e9a9056 100644
--- a/src/main.c
+++ b/src/main.c
@@ -192,12 +192,6 @@ int db_level = 0;
 
 char *output_sync_option = 0;
 
-#ifdef WINDOWS32
-/* Suspend make in main for a short time to allow debugger to attach */
-
-int suspend_flag = 0;
-#endif
-
 /* Environment variables override makefile definitions.  */
 
 int env_overrides = 0;
@@ -425,9 +419,6 @@ static const struct command_switch switches[] =
     { 'b', ignore, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0 },
     { 'B', flag, &always_make_set, 1, 1, 0, 0, 0, "always-make" },
     { 'd', flag, &debug_flag, 1, 1, 0, 0, 0, 0 },
-#ifdef WINDOWS32
-    { 'D', flag, &suspend_flag, 1, 1, 0, 0, 0, "suspend-for-debug" },
-#endif
     { 'e', flag, &env_overrides, 1, 1, 0, 0, 0, "environment-overrides", },
     { 'E', strlist, &eval_strings, 1, 0, 0, 0, 0, "eval" },
     { 'h', flag, &print_usage_flag, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, "help" },
@@ -1081,6 +1072,9 @@ main (int argc, char **argv, char **envp)
   no_default_sh_exe = 1;
 #endif
 
+  /* Useful for attaching debuggers, etc.  */
+  SPIN ("main-entry");
+
   output_init (&make_sync);
 
   initialize_stopchar_map();
@@ -1337,6 +1331,9 @@ main (int argc, char **argv, char **envp)
 #endif
 #ifdef MAKE_LOAD
                            " load"
+#endif
+#ifdef MAKE_MAINTAINER_MODE
+                           " maintainer"
 #endif
                            ;
 
@@ -1523,16 +1520,6 @@ main (int argc, char **argv, char **envp)
       makelevel = 0;
   }
 
-#ifdef WINDOWS32
-  if (suspend_flag)
-    {
-      fprintf (stderr, "%s (pid = %ld)\n", argv[0], GetCurrentProcessId ());
-      fprintf (stderr, _("%s is suspending for 30 seconds..."), argv[0]);
-      Sleep (30 * 1000);
-      fprintf (stderr, _("done sleep(30). Continuing.\n"));
-    }
-#endif
-
   /* Set always_make_flag if -B was given and we've not restarted already.  */
   always_make_flag = always_make_set && (restarts == 0);
 
diff --git a/src/makeint.h b/src/makeint.h
index dd6e894f..3b0f1f19 100644
--- a/src/makeint.h
+++ b/src/makeint.h
@@ -598,6 +598,14 @@ typedef int (*load_func_t)(const floc *flocp);
 int load_file (const floc *flocp, const char **filename, int noerror);
 void unload_file (const char *name);
 
+/* Maintainer mode support */
+#ifdef MAKE_MAINTAINER_MODE
+# define SPIN(_s) spin (_s)
+void spin (const char* suffix);
+#else
+# define SPIN(_s)
+#endif
+
 /* We omit these declarations on non-POSIX systems which define _POSIX_VERSION,
    because such systems often declare them in header files anyway.  */
 
@@ -726,7 +734,6 @@ extern unsigned int commands_started;
 
 extern int handling_fatal_signal;
 
-
 #ifndef MIN
 #define MIN(_a,_b) ((_a)<(_b)?(_a):(_b))
 #endif
@@ -734,7 +741,6 @@ extern int handling_fatal_signal;
 #define MAX(_a,_b) ((_a)>(_b)?(_a):(_b))
 #endif
 
-
 #define MAKE_SUCCESS 0
 #define MAKE_TROUBLE 1
 #define MAKE_FAILURE 2
diff --git a/src/misc.c b/src/misc.c
index 7a1b9d9c..a0f88980 100644
--- a/src/misc.c
+++ b/src/misc.c
@@ -405,6 +405,28 @@ free_ns_chain (struct nameseq *ns)
 }
 
 
+#ifdef MAKE_MAINTAINER_MODE
+
+void spin(const char* type)
+{
+  char filenm[256];
+  struct stat dummy;
+
+  sprintf (filenm, ".make-spin-%s", type);
+
+  if (stat (filenm, &dummy) == 0)
+    {
+      fprintf (stderr, "SPIN on %s\n", filenm);
+      do
+        sleep (1);
+      while (stat (filenm, &dummy) == 0);
+    }
+}
+
+#endif
+
+
+
 /* Provide support for temporary files.  */
 
 #ifndef HAVE_STDLIB_H