diff --git a/Makefile.am b/Makefile.am
index c1bdbb22e8e..52a9dcbd389 100644
--- a/Makefile.am
+++ b/Makefile.am
@@ -102,7 +102,7 @@ dist-hook:
 	rm -rf `find $(distdir) -type d -name SCCS -print`
 	rm -f  `find $(distdir) -type l -print`
 	mkdir -p $(distdir)/win
-	scripts/mysql_install_db --no-defaults --windows \
+	scripts/mysql_install_db --no-defaults --cross-bootstrap \
 		--basedir=$(top_builddir) \
 		--datadir=$(distdir)/win/data \
 		--srcdir=$(top_srcdir)
diff --git a/scripts/mysql_install_db.sh b/scripts/mysql_install_db.sh
index 5716d4f51c0..5d925a0b8ad 100644
--- a/scripts/mysql_install_db.sh
+++ b/scripts/mysql_install_db.sh
@@ -30,13 +30,15 @@ user=""
 force=0
 in_rpm=0
 ip_only=0
-windows=0
+cross_bootstrap=0
 
 usage()
 {
   cat <<EOF
 Usage: $0 [OPTIONS]
   --basedir=path       The path to the MySQL installation directory.
+  --cross-bootstrap    For internal use.  Used when building the MySQL system
+                       tables on a different host than the target.
   --datadir=path       The path to the MySQL data directory.
   --force              Causes mysql_install_db to run even if DNS does not
                        work.  In that case, grant table entries that normally
@@ -56,8 +58,6 @@ Usage: $0 [OPTIONS]
                        user.  You must be root to use this option.  By default
                        mysqld runs using your current login name and files and
                        directories that it creates will be owned by you.
-  --windows            For internal use.  This option is used for creating
-                       Windows distributions.
 
 All other options are passed to the mysqld program
 
@@ -67,7 +67,7 @@ EOF
 
 s_echo()
 {
-  if test "$in_rpm" -eq 0 -a "$windows" -eq 0
+  if test "$in_rpm" -eq 0 -a "$cross_bootstrap" -eq 0
   then
     echo "$1"
   fi
@@ -109,16 +109,17 @@ parse_arguments()
       --no-defaults|--defaults-file=*|--defaults-extra-file=*)
         defaults="$arg" ;;
 
-      --windows)
-	# This is actually a "cross bootstrap" argument used when
-        # building the MySQL system tables on a different host
-        # than the target. The platform independent
-        # files that are created in --datadir on the host can
-        # be copied to the target system, the most common use for
-        # this feature is in the windows installer which will take
-        # the files from datadir and include them as part of the install
-        # package.
-         windows=1 ;;
+      --cross-bootstrap|--windows)
+        # Used when building the MySQL system tables on a different host than
+        # the target. The platform-independent files that are created in
+        # --datadir on the host can be copied to the target system.
+        #
+        # The most common use for this feature is in the Windows installer
+        # which will take the files from datadir and include them as part of
+        # the install package.  See top-level 'dist-hook' make target.
+        #
+        # --windows is a deprecated alias
+         cross_bootstrap=1 ;;
 
       *)
         if test -n "$pick_args"
@@ -213,8 +214,8 @@ then
   pkgdatadir="@pkgdatadir@"
 else
   bindir="$basedir/bin"
-  # We set up bootstrap-specific paths later, so skip this for --windows
-  if test "$windows" -eq 0
+  # We set up bootstrap-specific paths later, so skip this for now
+  if test "$cross_bootstrap" -eq 0
   then
     pkgdatadir=`find_in_basedir --dir fill_help_tables.sql share share/mysql`
     if test -z "$pkgdatadir"
@@ -256,8 +257,8 @@ do
   fi
 done
 
-# Set up Windows-specific paths
-if test "$windows" -eq 1
+# Set up bootstrap-specific paths
+if test "$cross_bootstrap" -eq 1
 then
   mysqld="./sql/mysqld"
   if test -n "$srcdir" -a -f "$srcdir/sql/share/english/errmsg.sys"
@@ -280,7 +281,7 @@ fi
 hostname=`@HOSTNAME@`
 
 # Check if hostname is valid
-if test "$windows" -eq 0 -a "$in_rpm" -eq 0 -a "$force" -eq 0
+if test "$cross_bootstrap" -eq 0 -a "$in_rpm" -eq 0 -a "$force" -eq 0
 then
   resolved=`$bindir/resolveip $hostname 2>&1`
   if [ $? -ne 0 ]
@@ -329,6 +330,16 @@ then
   args="$args --user=$user"
 fi
 
+# When doing a "cross bootstrap" install, no reference to the current
+# host should be added to the system tables.  So we filter out any
+# lines which contain the current host name.
+if test $cross_bootstrap -eq 1
+then
+  filter_cmd_line="sed -e '/@current_hostname/d'"
+else
+  filter_cmd_line="cat"
+fi
+
 # Peform the install of system tables
 mysqld_bootstrap="${MYSQLD_BOOTSTRAP-$mysqld}"
 mysqld_install_cmd_line="$mysqld_bootstrap $defaults $mysqld_opt --bootstrap \
@@ -337,15 +348,14 @@ mysqld_install_cmd_line="$mysqld_bootstrap $defaults $mysqld_opt --bootstrap \
 
 # Pipe mysql_system_tables.sql to "mysqld --bootstrap"
 s_echo "Installing MySQL system tables..."
-if `(echo "use mysql;"; cat $create_system_tables $fill_system_tables) | $mysqld_install_cmd_line`
+if { echo "use mysql;"; cat $create_system_tables $fill_system_tables; } | eval "$filter_cmd_line" | $mysqld_install_cmd_line > /dev/null
 then
   s_echo "OK"
 
   s_echo "Filling help tables..."
   # Pipe fill_help_tables.sql to "mysqld --bootstrap"
-  if `(echo "use mysql;"; cat $fill_help_tables) | $mysqld_install_cmd_line`
+  if { echo "use mysql;"; cat $fill_help_tables; } | $mysqld_install_cmd_line > /dev/null
   then
-    # Fill suceeded
     s_echo "OK"
   else
     echo
@@ -359,14 +369,12 @@ then
   s_echo "support-files/mysql.server to the right place for your system"
   s_echo
 
-  if test "$windows" -eq 0
+  if test "$cross_bootstrap" -eq 0
   then
-    # A root password should of course also be set on Windows!
-    # The reason for not displaying these prompts here is that when
-    # executing this script with the --windows argument the script
-    # is used to generate system tables mainly used by the
-    # windows installer. And thus the password should not be set until
-    # those files has been copied to the target system
+    # This is not a true installation on a running system.  The end user must
+    # set a password after installing the data files on the real host system.
+    # At this point, there is no end user, so it does not make sense to print
+    # this reminder.
     echo "PLEASE REMEMBER TO SET A PASSWORD FOR THE MySQL root USER !"
     echo "To do so, start the server, then issue the following commands:"
     echo "$bindir/mysqladmin -u root password 'new-password'"
diff --git a/scripts/mysql_system_tables_data.sql b/scripts/mysql_system_tables_data.sql
index 47d4ea5d950..ce23953a1a5 100644
--- a/scripts/mysql_system_tables_data.sql
+++ b/scripts/mysql_system_tables_data.sql
@@ -2,6 +2,12 @@
 -- The inital data for system tables of MySQL Server
 --
 
+-- When setting up a "cross bootstrap" database (e.g., creating data on a Unix
+-- host which will later be included in a Windows zip file), any lines
+-- containing "@current_hostname" are filtered out by mysql_install_db.
+set @current_hostname= @@hostname;
+
+
 -- Fill "db" table with default grants for anyone to
 -- access database 'test' and 'test_%' if "db" table didn't exist
 CREATE TEMPORARY TABLE tmp_db LIKE db;
@@ -15,10 +21,9 @@ DROP TABLE tmp_db;
 -- from local machine if "users" table didn't exist before
 CREATE TEMPORARY TABLE tmp_user LIKE user;
 INSERT INTO tmp_user VALUES ('localhost','root','','Y','Y','Y','Y','Y','Y','Y','Y','Y','Y','Y','Y','Y','Y','Y','Y','Y','Y','Y','Y','Y','Y','Y','Y','Y','Y','','','','',0,0,0,0);
-set @hostname= @@hostname;
-REPLACE INTO tmp_user VALUES (@hostname,'root','','Y','Y','Y','Y','Y','Y','Y','Y','Y','Y','Y','Y','Y','Y','Y','Y','Y','Y','Y','Y','Y','Y','Y','Y','Y','Y','','','','',0,0,0,0);
+REPLACE INTO tmp_user VALUES (@current_hostname,'root','','Y','Y','Y','Y','Y','Y','Y','Y','Y','Y','Y','Y','Y','Y','Y','Y','Y','Y','Y','Y','Y','Y','Y','Y','Y','Y','','','','',0,0,0,0);
 REPLACE INTO tmp_user VALUES ('127.0.0.1','root','','Y','Y','Y','Y','Y','Y','Y','Y','Y','Y','Y','Y','Y','Y','Y','Y','Y','Y','Y','Y','Y','Y','Y','Y','Y','Y','','','','',0,0,0,0);
 INSERT INTO tmp_user (host,user) VALUES ('localhost','');
-INSERT INTO tmp_user (host,user) VALUES (@@hostname,'');
+INSERT INTO tmp_user (host,user) VALUES (@current_hostname,'');
 INSERT INTO user SELECT * FROM tmp_user WHERE @had_user_table=0;
 DROP TABLE tmp_user;