diff --git a/wp-admin/install-config.php b/wp-admin/install-config.php
index 4eee8ed5b..cdf7f750b 100644
--- a/wp-admin/install-config.php
+++ b/wp-admin/install-config.php
@@ -107,6 +107,7 @@ switch($step) {
 		die('Sorry, I need a wp-config-sample.php file to work from. Please re-upload this file from your WordPress installation.');
     $configFile = file('../wp-config-sample.php');
     
+	if (!is_writable('../')) die("Sorry, I can't write to the directory. You'll have to either change the permissions on your WordPress directory or create your wp-config.php manually.");
     $handle = fopen('../wp-config.php', 'w');
 
     foreach ($configFile as $line_num => $line) {