diff --git a/t/t0001-init.sh b/t/t0001-init.sh
index 0276d14a0b..1f759b08f2 100755
--- a/t/t0001-init.sh
+++ b/t/t0001-init.sh
@@ -473,8 +473,8 @@ test_expect_success MINGW 'redirect std handles' '
 		GIT_REDIRECT_STDOUT=output.txt \
 		GIT_REDIRECT_STDERR="2>&1" \
 		git rev-parse --git-dir --verify refs/invalid &&
-	printf ".git\nfatal: Needed a single revision\n" >expect &&
-	test_cmp expect output.txt
+	grep "^\\.git\$" output.txt &&
+	grep "Needed a single revision" output.txt
 '
 
 test_done