diff --git a/src/common/plugin.c b/src/common/plugin.c
index 1db11f35..6b2ffd0c 100644
--- a/src/common/plugin.c
+++ b/src/common/plugin.c
@@ -355,7 +355,8 @@ plugin_kill_all (void)
 	}
 }
 
-#ifdef USE_PLUGIN
+#if defined(USE_PLUGIN) || defined(WIN32)
+/* used for loading plugins, and in fe-gtk/notifications/notification-windows.c */
 
 GModule *
 module_load (char *filename)
@@ -384,6 +385,10 @@ module_load (char *filename)
 	return handle;
 }
 
+#endif
+
+#ifdef USE_PLUGIN
+
 /* load a plugin from a filename. Returns: NULL-success or an error string */
 
 char *