diff --git a/winsup/cygwin/ChangeLog b/winsup/cygwin/ChangeLog
index 34730cf71..33b3df380 100644
--- a/winsup/cygwin/ChangeLog
+++ b/winsup/cygwin/ChangeLog
@@ -1,3 +1,9 @@
+2003-03-09  Christopher Faylor  <cgf@redhat.com>
+
+	* syscalls.cc (unlink): Attempt to be more clever about setting
+	attributes of file.  Only open file in query mode to avoid having to
+	mess with security stuff for reading.
+
 2003-03-09  Corinna Vinschen  <corinna@vinschen.de>
 
 	* rmsym: Fix regular expression.
diff --git a/winsup/cygwin/syscalls.cc b/winsup/cygwin/syscalls.cc
index 27e40d050..3551723c2 100644
--- a/winsup/cygwin/syscalls.cc
+++ b/winsup/cygwin/syscalls.cc
@@ -130,36 +130,48 @@ unlink (const char *ourname)
   if (!writable_directory (win32_name))
     {
       syscall_printf ("non-writable directory");
+      set_errno (EPERM);
       goto done;
     }
 
+  /* Allow us to delete even if read-only */
   SetFileAttributes (win32_name, (DWORD) win32_name & ~(FILE_ATTRIBUTE_READONLY | FILE_ATTRIBUTE_SYSTEM));
   /* Attempt to use "delete on close" semantics to handle removing
      a file which may be open. */
   HANDLE h;
-  h = CreateFile (win32_name, GENERIC_READ, FILE_SHARE_DELETE, &sec_none_nih,
+  h = CreateFile (win32_name, 0, FILE_SHARE_READ, &sec_none_nih,
 		  OPEN_EXISTING, FILE_FLAG_DELETE_ON_CLOSE, 0);
-
-  (void) SetFileAttributes (win32_name, (DWORD) win32_name);
-  (void) DeleteFile (win32_name);
-  DWORD lasterr;
-  lasterr = GetLastError ();
   if (h != INVALID_HANDLE_VALUE)
-    CloseHandle (h);
-
-  if (GetFileAttributes (win32_name) == INVALID_FILE_ATTRIBUTES
-      || (!win32_name.isremote () && wincap.has_delete_on_close ()))
     {
-      syscall_printf ("DeleteFile succeeded");
-      goto ok;
+      (void) SetFileAttributes (win32_name, (DWORD) win32_name);
+      BOOL res = CloseHandle (h);
+      syscall_printf ("%d = CloseHandle (%p)", res, h);
+      if (GetFileAttributes (win32_name) == INVALID_FILE_ATTRIBUTES
+	  || (!win32_name.isremote () && wincap.has_delete_on_close ()))
+	{
+	  syscall_printf ("CreateFile (FILE_FLAG_DELETE_ON_CLOSE) succeeded");
+	  goto ok;
+	}
+      else
+	{
+	  syscall_printf ("CreateFile (FILE_FLAG_DELETE_ON_CLOSE) failed");
+	  SetFileAttributes (win32_name, (DWORD) win32_name & ~(FILE_ATTRIBUTE_READONLY | FILE_ATTRIBUTE_SYSTEM));
+	}
     }
 
+
+  /* Try a delete with attributes reset */
   if (DeleteFile (win32_name))
     {
       syscall_printf ("DeleteFile after CreateFile/ClosHandle succeeded");
       goto ok;
     }
 
+  DWORD lasterr;
+  lasterr = GetLastError ();
+
+  (void) SetFileAttributes (win32_name, (DWORD) win32_name);
+
   /* Windows 9x seems to report ERROR_ACCESS_DENIED rather than sharing
      violation.  So, set lasterr to ERROR_SHARING_VIOLATION in this case
      to simplify tests. */