diff --git a/packages/grpc-tools/CMakeLists.txt b/packages/grpc-tools/CMakeLists.txt
index e3deadde..11d6e843 100644
--- a/packages/grpc-tools/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/packages/grpc-tools/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -18,6 +18,9 @@ add_executable(grpc_node_plugin
   src/node_plugin.cc
 )
 
+if (MSVC)
+  add_definitions(/MTd)
+endif (MSVC)
 
 target_include_directories(grpc_node_plugin
   PRIVATE ${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}
diff --git a/packages/grpc-tools/build_binaries.ps1 b/packages/grpc-tools/build_binaries.ps1
index 7b8d49b6..1a99b99a 100644
--- a/packages/grpc-tools/build_binaries.ps1
+++ b/packages/grpc-tools/build_binaries.ps1
@@ -1,7 +1,11 @@
+$ErrorActionPreference = "Stop"
+
 Install-PackageProvider -Name NuGet -RequiredVersion 2.8.5.201 -Force
 Import-PackageProvider -Name NuGet -RequiredVersion 2.8.5.201
 Install-Module -Force -Name 7Zip4Powershell
 
+$env:Path += ";C:\Program Files\CMake\bin"
+
 function MkDir-p($Path) {
     $FullPath = "\\?\" + $Path
     if (-not (Test-Path -Path $FullPath)) {
@@ -28,16 +32,23 @@ foreach ($Arch in $ArchList) {
   } else {
     $Generator = "Visual Studio 14 2015"
   }
-  Remove-Item ($Base + "/build/bin/protoc.exe")
-  Remove-Item ($Base + "/build/bin/grpc_node_plugin.exe")
-  Remove-Item ($Base + "CMakeCache.txt")
 
-  Invoke-Expression "cmake ."
-  Invoke-Expression "cmake --build ."
+  & cmake.exe .
+  if ($LASTEXITCODE -ne 0) {
+    throw "cmake failed"
+  }
+  & cmake.exe --build .
+  if ($LASTEXITCODE -ne 0) {
+    throw "cmake build failed"
+  }
 
-  Copy-Item ($ProtobufBase + "/protoc.exe") -Destination ($Base + "/build/bin/protoc.exe")
-  Copy-Item ($Base + "/grpc_node_plugin.exe") -Destination ($Base + "/build/bin/grpc_node_plugin.exe")
+  Copy-Item ($ProtobufBase + "/Debug/protoc.exe") -Destination ($Base + "/build/bin/protoc.exe")
+  Copy-Item ($Base + "/Debug/grpc_node_plugin.exe") -Destination ($Base + "/build/bin/grpc_node_plugin.exe")
 
   Compress-7Zip -Path ($Base + "/build") -Format Tar -ArchiveFileName ($Base + "/Archive.tar")
   Compress-7Zip -Path ($Base + "/Archive.tar") -Format GZip -ArchiveFileName ($OutDir + "/windows-x64.tar.gz")
+
+  Remove-Item ($Base + "/build/bin/protoc.exe")
+  Remove-Item ($Base + "/build/bin/grpc_node_plugin.exe")
+  Remove-Item ($Base + "/CMakeCache.txt")
 }
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/test/kokoro-nodejs-build-test.bat b/test/kokoro-nodejs-build-test.bat
index bc987226..ac109e51 100644
--- a/test/kokoro-nodejs-build-test.bat
+++ b/test/kokoro-nodejs-build-test.bat
@@ -1,8 +1,8 @@
 cd /d %~dp0
 cd ..
 
-call ./tools/release/kokoro-nodejs.bat || goto :error
 call ./tools/release/kokoro-grpc-tools.bat || goto :error
+call ./tools/release/kokoro-nodejs.bat || goto :error
 
 goto :EOF
 
diff --git a/tools/release/kokoro-grpc-tools.bat b/tools/release/kokoro-grpc-tools.bat
index c6df803b..d0f7a74e 100644
--- a/tools/release/kokoro-grpc-tools.bat
+++ b/tools/release/kokoro-grpc-tools.bat
@@ -3,6 +3,8 @@ cd ../..
 
 git submodule update --init --recursive
 
+@rem make sure msys binaries are preferred over cygwin binaries
+set PATH=C:\tools\msys64\usr\bin;%PATH%
 set ARTIFACTS_OUT=%cd%/artifacts
 powershell -File ./packages/grpc-tools/build_binaries.ps1 || goto :error
 goto :EOF
diff --git a/tools/release/kokoro-nodejs.bat b/tools/release/kokoro-nodejs.bat
index 054fc72b..d73a592a 100644
--- a/tools/release/kokoro-nodejs.bat
+++ b/tools/release/kokoro-nodejs.bat
@@ -30,12 +30,11 @@ cd ..\..
 git submodule update --init
 git submodule foreach --recursive git submodule update --init
 
-set ARTIFACTS_OUT=artifacts
+set ARTIFACTS_OUT=%cd%\artifacts
 cd packages\grpc-native-core
 call tools\run_tests\artifacts\build_artifact_node.bat || goto :error
 cd ..\..
 
-move packages\grpc-native-core\artifacts .
 goto :EOF
 
 :error