diff --git a/.travis.yml b/.travis.yml
index 36537cbe..6bf99f1b 100644
--- a/.travis.yml
+++ b/.travis.yml
@@ -12,7 +12,7 @@ matrix:
       os: linux
       sudo: false
 
-    - env: Ubu=12.04cont Cmd="make zlibwrapper && make clean && make -C tests test-pool && make -C tests test-symbols && make clean && make -C tests test-zstd-nolegacy && make clean && make cmaketest && make clean && make -C contrib/pzstd googletest pzstd tests check && make -C contrib/pzstd clean"
+    - env: Ubu=12.04cont Cmd="make zlibwrapper && make clean && make -C tests test-symbols && make clean && make -C tests test-zstd-nolegacy && make clean && make cmaketest && make clean && make -C contrib/pzstd googletest pzstd tests check && make -C contrib/pzstd clean"
       os: linux
       sudo: false
       language: cpp
diff --git a/lib/common/pool.c b/lib/common/pool.c
index 97ca7dda..e24691f7 100644
--- a/lib/common/pool.c
+++ b/lib/common/pool.c
@@ -51,21 +51,21 @@ static void* POOL_thread(void* opaque) {
     if (!ctx) { return NULL; }
     for (;;) {
         /* Lock the mutex and wait for a non-empty queue or until shutdown */
-        if (pthread_mutex_lock(&ctx->queueMutex)) { return NULL; }
+        pthread_mutex_lock(&ctx->queueMutex);
         while (ctx->queueHead == ctx->queueTail && !ctx->shutdown) {
-            if (pthread_cond_wait(&ctx->queuePopCond, &ctx->queueMutex)) { return NULL; }
+            pthread_cond_wait(&ctx->queuePopCond, &ctx->queueMutex);
         }
         /* empty => shutting down: so stop */
         if (ctx->queueHead == ctx->queueTail) {
-            if (pthread_mutex_unlock(&ctx->queueMutex)) { return NULL; }
+            pthread_mutex_unlock(&ctx->queueMutex);
             return opaque;
         }
         /* Pop a job off the queue */
         {   POOL_job const job = ctx->queue[ctx->queueHead];
             ctx->queueHead = (ctx->queueHead + 1) % ctx->queueSize;
             /* Unlock the mutex, signal a pusher, and run the job */
-            if (pthread_mutex_unlock(&ctx->queueMutex)) { return NULL; }
-            if (pthread_cond_signal(&ctx->queuePushCond)) { return NULL; }
+            pthread_mutex_unlock(&ctx->queueMutex);
+            pthread_cond_signal(&ctx->queuePushCond);
             job.function(job.opaque);
         }
     }
@@ -73,7 +73,6 @@ static void* POOL_thread(void* opaque) {
 }
 
 POOL_ctx *POOL_create(size_t numThreads, size_t queueSize) {
-    int err = 0;
     POOL_ctx *ctx;
     /* Check the parameters */
     if (!numThreads || !queueSize) { return NULL; }
@@ -88,15 +87,15 @@ POOL_ctx *POOL_create(size_t numThreads, size_t queueSize) {
     ctx->queue = (POOL_job *)malloc(ctx->queueSize * sizeof(POOL_job));
     ctx->queueHead = 0;
     ctx->queueTail = 0;
-    err |= pthread_mutex_init(&ctx->queueMutex, NULL);
-    err |= pthread_cond_init(&ctx->queuePushCond, NULL);
-    err |= pthread_cond_init(&ctx->queuePopCond, NULL);
+    pthread_mutex_init(&ctx->queueMutex, NULL);
+    pthread_cond_init(&ctx->queuePushCond, NULL);
+    pthread_cond_init(&ctx->queuePopCond, NULL);
     ctx->shutdown = 0;
     /* Allocate space for the thread handles */
     ctx->threads = (pthread_t *)malloc(numThreads * sizeof(pthread_t));
     ctx->numThreads = 0;
     /* Check for errors */
-    if (!ctx->threads || !ctx->queue || err) { POOL_free(ctx); return NULL; }
+    if (!ctx->threads || !ctx->queue) { POOL_free(ctx); return NULL; }
     /* Initialize the threads */
     {   size_t i;
         for (i = 0; i < numThreads; ++i) {
diff --git a/lib/common/pool.h b/lib/common/pool.h
index f4afc1ee..c26f543f 100644
--- a/lib/common/pool.h
+++ b/lib/common/pool.h
@@ -39,6 +39,7 @@ typedef void (*POOL_add_function)(void *, POOL_function, void *);
 /*! POOL_add() :
     Add the job `function(opaque)` to the thread pool.
     Possibly blocks until there is room in the queue.
+    Note : The function may be executed asynchronously, so `opaque` must live until the function has been completed.
 */
 void POOL_add(void *ctx, POOL_function function, void *opaque);
 
diff --git a/lib/common/threading.c b/lib/common/threading.c
index 1725650c..abad2c15 100644
--- a/lib/common/threading.c
+++ b/lib/common/threading.c
@@ -15,7 +15,7 @@
  * This file will hold wrapper for systems, which do not support Pthreads
  */
 
-#ifdef _WIN32
+#if defined(ZSTD_PTHREAD) && defined(_WIN32)
 
 /**
  * Windows minimalist Pthread Wrapper, based on :
diff --git a/lib/common/threading.h b/lib/common/threading.h
index a8126eb7..d5dc8f75 100644
--- a/lib/common/threading.h
+++ b/lib/common/threading.h
@@ -24,24 +24,42 @@ extern "C" {
  * Windows minimalist Pthread Wrapper, based on :
  * http://www.cse.wustl.edu/~schmidt/win32-cv-1.html
  */
+#ifdef WINVER
+#  undef WINVER
+#endif
+#define WINVER       0x0600
+
+#ifdef _WIN32_WINNT
+#  undef _WIN32_WINNT
+#endif
+#define _WIN32_WINNT 0x0600
 
 #ifndef WIN32_LEAN_AND_MEAN
 #  define WIN32_LEAN_AND_MEAN
 #endif
+
 #include <windows.h>
 
 /* mutex */
 #define pthread_mutex_t           CRITICAL_SECTION
 #define pthread_mutex_init(a,b)   InitializeCriticalSection((a))
 #define pthread_mutex_destroy(a)  DeleteCriticalSection((a))
-#define pthread_mutex_lock        EnterCriticalSection
-#define pthread_mutex_unlock      LeaveCriticalSection
+#define pthread_mutex_lock(a)     EnterCriticalSection((a))
+#define pthread_mutex_unlock(a)   LeaveCriticalSection((a))
+
+/* condition variable */
+#define pthread_cond_t             CONDITION_VARIABLE
+#define pthread_cond_init(a, b)    InitializeConditionVariable((a))
+#define pthread_cond_destroy(a)    /* No delete */
+#define pthread_cond_wait(a, b)    SleepConditionVariableCS((a), (b), INFINITE)
+#define pthread_cond_signal(a)     WakeConditionVariable((a))
+#define pthread_cond_broadcast(a)  WakeAllConditionVariable((a))
 
 /* pthread_create() and pthread_join() */
 typedef struct {
     HANDLE handle;
     void* (*start_routine)(void*);
-    void*varg;
+    void* arg;
 } pthread_t;
 
 int pthread_create(pthread_t* thread, const void* unused,
@@ -68,6 +86,13 @@ typedef int pthread_mutex_t;
 #define pthread_mutex_lock(a)
 #define pthread_mutex_unlock(a)
 
+typedef int pthread_cond_t;
+#define pthread_cond_init(a,b)
+#define pthread_cond_destroy(a)
+#define pthread_cond_wait(a,b)
+#define pthread_cond_signal(a)
+#define pthread_cond_broadcast(a)
+
 /* do not use pthread_t */
 
 #endif /* ZSTD_PTHREAD */
diff --git a/tests/Makefile b/tests/Makefile
index 739944de..6312584a 100644
--- a/tests/Makefile
+++ b/tests/Makefile
@@ -48,8 +48,10 @@ ZDICT_FILES := $(ZSTDDIR)/dictBuilder/*.c
 # Define *.exe as extension for Windows systems
 ifneq (,$(filter Windows%,$(OS)))
 EXT =.exe
+PTHREAD = -DZSTD_PTHREAD
 else
 EXT =
+PTHREAD = -pthread -DZSTD_PTHREAD
 endif
 
 VOID = /dev/null
@@ -158,8 +160,8 @@ else
 	$(CC) $(FLAGS) $^ -o $@$(EXT) -Wl,-rpath=$(ZSTDDIR) $(ZSTDDIR)/libzstd.so
 endif
 
-pool  : pool.c $(ZSTDDIR)/common/pool.c
-	$(CC)    $(FLAGS) -pthread -DZSTD_PTHREAD $^ -o $@$(EXT)
+pool  : pool.c $(ZSTDDIR)/common/pool.c $(ZSTDDIR)/common/threading.c
+	$(CC)    $(FLAGS) $(PTHREAD) $^ -o $@$(EXT)
 
 namespaceTest:
 	if $(CC) namespaceTest.c ../lib/common/xxhash.c -o $@ ; then echo compilation should fail; exit 1 ; fi
@@ -225,7 +227,7 @@ zstd-playTests: datagen
 	file $(ZSTD)
 	ZSTD="$(QEMU_SYS) $(ZSTD)" ./playTests.sh $(ZSTDRTTEST)
 
-test: test-zstd test-fullbench test-fuzzer test-zstream test-longmatch test-invalidDictionaries
+test: test-zstd test-fullbench test-fuzzer test-zstream test-longmatch test-invalidDictionaries test-pool
 
 test32: test-zstd32 test-fullbench32 test-fuzzer32 test-zstream32
 
diff --git a/tests/pool.c b/tests/pool.c
index ce38075d..adc5947d 100644
--- a/tests/pool.c
+++ b/tests/pool.c
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 #include "pool.h"
-#include <pthread.h>
+#include "threading.h"
 #include <stddef.h>
 #include <stdio.h>
 
@@ -14,7 +14,7 @@
 
 struct data {
   pthread_mutex_t mutex;
-  unsigned data[1024];
+  unsigned data[16];
   size_t i;
 };
 
@@ -26,45 +26,45 @@ void fn(void *opaque) {
   pthread_mutex_unlock(&data->mutex);
 }
 
-int testOrder(size_t numThreads, size_t queueLog) {
+int testOrder(size_t numThreads, size_t queueSize) {
   struct data data;
-  POOL_ctx *ctx = POOL_create(numThreads, queueLog);
+  POOL_ctx *ctx = POOL_create(numThreads, queueSize);
   ASSERT_TRUE(ctx);
   data.i = 0;
-  ASSERT_FALSE(pthread_mutex_init(&data.mutex, NULL));
+  pthread_mutex_init(&data.mutex, NULL);
   {
     size_t i;
-    for (i = 0; i < 1024; ++i) {
+    for (i = 0; i < 16; ++i) {
       POOL_add(ctx, &fn, &data);
     }
   }
   POOL_free(ctx);
-  ASSERT_EQ(1024, data.i);
+  ASSERT_EQ(16, data.i);
   {
     size_t i;
     for (i = 0; i < data.i; ++i) {
       ASSERT_EQ(i, data.data[i]);
     }
   }
-  ASSERT_FALSE(pthread_mutex_destroy(&data.mutex));
+  pthread_mutex_destroy(&data.mutex);
   return 0;
 }
 
 int main(int argc, const char **argv) {
   size_t numThreads;
-  for (numThreads = 1; numThreads <= 8; ++numThreads) {
-    size_t queueLog;
-    for (queueLog = 1; queueLog <= 8; ++queueLog) {
-      if (testOrder(numThreads, queueLog)) {
+  for (numThreads = 1; numThreads <= 4; ++numThreads) {
+    size_t queueSize;
+    for (queueSize = 1; queueSize <= 2; ++queueSize) {
+      if (testOrder(numThreads, queueSize)) {
         printf("FAIL: testOrder\n");
         return 1;
       }
     }
   }
   printf("PASS: testOrder\n");
-  (POOL_create(0, 1) || POOL_create(1, 0)) ? printf("FAIL: testInvalid\n")
-                                           : printf("PASS: testInvalid\n");
   (void)argc;
   (void)argv;
+  return (POOL_create(0, 1) || POOL_create(1, 0)) ? printf("FAIL: testInvalid\n"), 1
+                                                  : printf("PASS: testInvalid\n"), 0;
   return 0;
 }