diff --git a/src/Composer/Util/Filesystem.php b/src/Composer/Util/Filesystem.php
index b940ced48..d18c3b387 100644
--- a/src/Composer/Util/Filesystem.php
+++ b/src/Composer/Util/Filesystem.php
@@ -601,7 +601,12 @@ class Filesystem
 
         $relativePath = $this->findShortestPath($link, $target);
         chdir(\dirname($link));
-        $result = @symlink($relativePath, $link);
+        
+        if (function_exists('symlink')) {
+            $result = @symlink($relativePath, $link);
+        } else {
+            $result = false;
+        }
 
         chdir($cwd);