diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index 1c6b5390..11dcbb70 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -450,6 +450,13 @@ AR        := $(CROSS)ar
 OBJDUMP   := $(CROSS)objdump
 OBJCOPY   := $(CROSS)objcopy
 
+ifeq ($(LD), tools/mips64-elf-ld)
+  ifeq ($(shell ls -la tools/mips64-elf-ld | awk '{print $1}' | grep x),)
+    $(warning [ERROR]: A required file in this repository is no longer executable.)
+    $(error *    Please run: 'chmod +x tools/mips64-elf-ld', then run `make` again)
+  endif
+endif
+
 ifeq ($(TARGET_N64),1)
   TARGET_CFLAGS := -nostdinc -DTARGET_N64 -D_LANGUAGE_C
   CC_CFLAGS := -fno-builtin
@@ -810,7 +817,7 @@ $(BUILD_DIR)/include/level_headers.h: levels/level_headers.h.in
 # Generate version_data.h
 $(BUILD_DIR)/src/game/version_data.h: tools/make_version.sh
 	@$(PRINT) "$(GREEN)Generating:  $(BLUE)$@ $(NO_COL)\n"
-	$(V)tools/make_version.sh $(CROSS) > $@
+	$(V)sh tools/make_version.sh $(CROSS) > $@
 
 #==============================================================================#
 # Compilation Recipes                                                          #
@@ -819,8 +826,8 @@ $(BUILD_DIR)/src/game/version_data.h: tools/make_version.sh
 # Compile C code
 ifeq ($(FIXLIGHTS),1)
 # This must not be run multiple times at once, so we run it ahead of time rather than in a rule
-DUMMY != $(FIXLIGHTS_PY) actors
-DUMMY != $(FIXLIGHTS_PY) levels
+DUMMY != $(PYTHON) $(FIXLIGHTS_PY) actors
+DUMMY != $(PYTHON) $(FIXLIGHTS_PY) levels
 endif
 $(BUILD_DIR)/%.o: %.c
 	$(call print,Compiling:,$<,$@)