diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index c5723d90eb..a645ae3109 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -64,7 +64,7 @@ N_THREADS ?= $(shell nproc)
 
 #### Tools ####
 ifneq ($(shell type $(MIPS_BINUTILS_PREFIX)ld >/dev/null 2>/dev/null; echo $$?), 0)
-  $(error Please install or build $(MIPS_BINUTILS_PREFIX))
+  $(error Unable to find $(MIPS_BINUTILS_PREFIX)ld. Please install or build MIPS binutils, commonly mips-linux-gnu. (or set MIPS_BINUTILS_PREFIX if your MIPS binutils install uses another prefix))
 endif
 
 # Detect compiler and set variables appropriately.