diff --git a/src/libpanic_unwind/windows.rs b/src/libpanic_unwind/windows.rs
index fd8429d262e6e..a7e90071ceae8 100644
--- a/src/libpanic_unwind/windows.rs
+++ b/src/libpanic_unwind/windows.rs
@@ -12,11 +12,11 @@
 #![allow(dead_code)]
 #![cfg(windows)]
 
-use libc::{c_long, c_ulong, c_ulonglong, c_void};
+use libc::{c_long, c_ulong, c_void};
 
 pub type DWORD = c_ulong;
 pub type LONG = c_long;
-pub type ULONG_PTR = c_ulonglong;
+pub type ULONG_PTR = usize;
 pub type LPVOID = *mut c_void;
 
 pub const EXCEPTION_MAXIMUM_PARAMETERS: usize = 15;
diff --git a/src/librustc_data_structures/flock.rs b/src/librustc_data_structures/flock.rs
index 32f0fd4199776..ff1ebb11b7221 100644
--- a/src/librustc_data_structures/flock.rs
+++ b/src/librustc_data_structures/flock.rs
@@ -247,11 +247,11 @@ mod imp {
     use std::os::windows::raw::HANDLE;
     use std::path::Path;
     use std::fs::{File, OpenOptions};
-    use std::os::raw::{c_ulong, c_ulonglong, c_int};
+    use std::os::raw::{c_ulong, c_int};
 
     type DWORD = c_ulong;
     type BOOL = c_int;
-    type ULONG_PTR = c_ulonglong;
+    type ULONG_PTR = usize;
 
     type LPOVERLAPPED = *mut OVERLAPPED;
     const LOCKFILE_EXCLUSIVE_LOCK: DWORD = 0x00000002;
diff --git a/src/libstd/sys/windows/c.rs b/src/libstd/sys/windows/c.rs
index 4daab31c28f49..965776a241d00 100644
--- a/src/libstd/sys/windows/c.rs
+++ b/src/libstd/sys/windows/c.rs
@@ -14,8 +14,9 @@
 #![cfg_attr(test, allow(dead_code))]
 #![unstable(issue = "0", feature = "windows_c")]
 
-use os::raw::{c_int, c_uint, c_ulong, c_long, c_longlong, c_ushort,};
-use os::raw::{c_char, c_ulonglong};
+use os::raw::{c_int, c_uint, c_ulong, c_long, c_longlong, c_ushort, c_char};
+#[cfg(target_arch = "x86_64")]
+use os::raw::c_ulonglong;
 use libc::{wchar_t, size_t, c_void};
 use ptr;
 
@@ -45,7 +46,7 @@ pub type SIZE_T = usize;
 pub type WORD = u16;
 pub type CHAR = c_char;
 pub type HCRYPTPROV = LONG_PTR;
-pub type ULONG_PTR = c_ulonglong;
+pub type ULONG_PTR = usize;
 pub type ULONG = c_ulong;
 #[cfg(target_arch = "x86_64")]
 pub type ULONGLONG = u64;
@@ -282,9 +283,12 @@ pub const CRYPT_SILENT: DWORD = 64;
 pub const CRYPT_VERIFYCONTEXT: DWORD = 0xF0000000;
 
 pub const EXCEPTION_CONTINUE_SEARCH: LONG = 0;
+pub const EXCEPTION_CONTINUE_EXECUTION: LONG = -1;
 pub const EXCEPTION_STACK_OVERFLOW: DWORD = 0xc00000fd;
 pub const EXCEPTION_MAXIMUM_PARAMETERS: usize = 15;
 
+pub const MS_VC_EXCEPTION: DWORD = 0x406d1388;
+
 pub const PIPE_ACCESS_INBOUND: DWORD = 0x00000001;
 pub const PIPE_ACCESS_OUTBOUND: DWORD = 0x00000002;
 pub const FILE_FLAG_FIRST_PIPE_INSTANCE: DWORD = 0x00080000;
@@ -833,6 +837,15 @@ pub struct CONSOLE_READCONSOLE_CONTROL {
 }
 pub type PCONSOLE_READCONSOLE_CONTROL = *mut CONSOLE_READCONSOLE_CONTROL;
 
+#[repr(C)]
+#[derive(Copy, Clone)]
+pub struct THREADNAME_INFO {
+    pub dwType: DWORD,
+    pub szName: LPCSTR,
+    pub dwThreadID: DWORD,
+    pub dwFlags: DWORD,
+}
+
 extern "system" {
     pub fn WSAStartup(wVersionRequested: WORD,
                       lpWSAData: LPWSADATA) -> c_int;
@@ -1122,6 +1135,11 @@ extern "system" {
                                lpOverlapped: LPOVERLAPPED,
                                lpNumberOfBytesTransferred: LPDWORD,
                                bWait: BOOL) -> BOOL;
+
+    pub fn RaiseException(dwExceptionCode: DWORD,
+                          dwExceptionFlags: DWORD,
+                          nNumberOfArguments: DWORD,
+                          lpArguments: *const ULONG_PTR);
 }
 
 // Functions that aren't available on Windows XP, but we still use them and just
diff --git a/src/libstd/sys/windows/thread.rs b/src/libstd/sys/windows/thread.rs
index 5a376a867ee64..33d18724a050f 100644
--- a/src/libstd/sys/windows/thread.rs
+++ b/src/libstd/sys/windows/thread.rs
@@ -18,6 +18,22 @@ use sys::c;
 use sys::handle::Handle;
 use sys_common::thread::*;
 use time::Duration;
+use cell::Cell;
+use sync;
+
+thread_local! {
+    static IGNORE_EXCEPTIONS: Cell<bool> = Cell::new(false);
+}
+
+extern "system"
+fn exception_filter(_ExceptionInfo: *mut c::EXCEPTION_POINTERS) -> c::LONG {
+    IGNORE_EXCEPTIONS.with(|ignoring| {
+        match ignoring.get() {
+            true => c::EXCEPTION_CONTINUE_EXECUTION,
+            false => c::EXCEPTION_CONTINUE_SEARCH,
+        }
+    })
+}
 
 pub struct Thread {
     handle: Handle
@@ -53,11 +69,40 @@ impl Thread {
         }
     }
 
-    pub fn set_name(_name: &CStr) {
-        // Windows threads are nameless
-        // The names in MSVC debugger are obtained using a "magic" exception,
-        // which requires a use of MS C++ extensions.
-        // See https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/xcb2z8hs.aspx
+    pub fn set_name(name: &CStr) {
+        // Most Windows debuggers support setting thread names by throwing a
+        // magic exception. Windows itself is unaware of the exceptions
+        // non-exceptional meaning and will crash the process if nothing
+        // catches it, so we register an exception handler to filter them.
+        // See: https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/xcb2z8hs.aspx
+
+        static FILTER_INIT: sync::Once = sync::ONCE_INIT;
+
+        FILTER_INIT.call_once(|| {
+            unsafe {
+                if c::AddVectoredExceptionHandler(0, exception_filter).is_null() {
+                    panic!("failed to install exception filter");
+                }
+            }
+        });
+
+        let info = c::THREADNAME_INFO {
+            dwType: 0x1000,
+            szName: name.as_ptr(),
+            dwThreadID: 0xffffffff,
+            dwFlags: 0,
+        };
+
+        let size = (mem::size_of::<c::THREADNAME_INFO>() /
+                    mem::size_of::<c::ULONG_PTR>()) as c::DWORD;
+
+        let args = &info as *const _ as *const _;
+
+        IGNORE_EXCEPTIONS.with(|ignoring| {
+            ignoring.set(true);
+            unsafe { c::RaiseException(c::MS_VC_EXCEPTION, 0, size, args); }
+            ignoring.set(false);
+        });
     }
 
     pub fn join(self) {