diff --git a/configure b/configure
index 3eee3fcf70..87273d1c12 100755
--- a/configure
+++ b/configure
@@ -5889,8 +5889,12 @@ if test "$cpu" = "ppc64" -a "$targetos" != "Darwin" ; then
   roms="$roms spapr-rtas"
 fi
 
+# Only build s390-ccw bios if we're on s390x and the compiler has -march=z900
 if test "$cpu" = "s390x" ; then
-  roms="$roms s390-ccw"
+  write_c_skeleton
+  if compile_prog "-march=z900" ""; then
+    roms="$roms s390-ccw"
+  fi
 fi
 
 # Probe for the need for relocating the user-only binary.