diff --git a/tests/helper-testrepo.sh b/tests/helper-testrepo.sh
--- a/tests/helper-testrepo.sh
+++ b/tests/helper-testrepo.sh
@@ -24,12 +24,12 @@
 
 # sanity check whether hg actually works or not
 if ! hg log -r tip -T '{author}' >/dev/null 2>"$TESTTMP/hg-err-check"; then
-    echo 'skipped: missing working hg'
-    exit 80
+    echo 'hg does not work'
+    exit 1
 fi
 
 # hg might work but print "failed to ..." - treat that as an error
 if [ -s "$TESTTMP/hg-err-check" ]; then
-    echo 'skipped: missing working hg'
-    exit 80
+    echo 'hg outputs to stderr: ' `cat "$TESTTMP/hg-err-check"`
+    exit 1
 fi