diff --git a/compat/terminal.c b/compat/terminal.c
index 2a2611855b877f..e8994aaf0ed9bc 100644
--- a/compat/terminal.c
+++ b/compat/terminal.c
@@ -435,6 +435,7 @@ static char *shell_prompt(const char *prompt, int echo)
 	strvec_pushv(&child.args, read_input);
 	child.in = -1;
 	child.out = -1;
+	child.silent_exec_failure = 1;
 
 	if (start_command(&child))
 		return NULL;
@@ -478,11 +479,14 @@ char *git_terminal_prompt(const char *prompt, int echo)
 	static struct strbuf buf = STRBUF_INIT;
 	int r;
 	FILE *input_fh, *output_fh;
+
 #ifdef GIT_WINDOWS_NATIVE
-	const char *term = getenv("TERM");
 
-	if (term && starts_with(term, "xterm"))
-		return shell_prompt(prompt, echo);
+	/* try shell_prompt first, fall back to CONIN/OUT if bash is missing */
+	char *result = shell_prompt(prompt, echo);
+	if (result || errno != ENOENT)
+		return result;
+
 #endif
 
 	input_fh = fopen(INPUT_PATH, "r" FORCE_TEXT);