diff --git a/util/osdep.c b/util/osdep.c
index f7d06050f7..4829c07ff6 100644
--- a/util/osdep.c
+++ b/util/osdep.c
@@ -82,8 +82,8 @@ static int qemu_mprotect__osdep(void *addr, size_t size, int prot)
     DWORD old_protect;
 
     if (!VirtualProtect(addr, size, prot, &old_protect)) {
-        error_report("%s: VirtualProtect failed with error code %ld",
-                     __func__, GetLastError());
+        g_autofree gchar *emsg = g_win32_error_message(GetLastError());
+        error_report("%s: VirtualProtect failed: %s", __func__, emsg);
         return -1;
     }
     return 0;