diff --git a/Makefile.install.am b/Makefile.install.am
index 8870758d3..cde1a548b 100644
--- a/Makefile.install.am
+++ b/Makefile.install.am
@@ -9,6 +9,8 @@
 # and not in
 #    $prefix/lib/valgrind/omega-x86-linux/exp
 # or similarly mutant place.
+#
+# Note there is identical sed magic in Makefile.tool-inplace.am.
 
 # What the second for loop does: it copies libcoregrind.a and libvex.a
 # into the correct (target-specific) lib dirs at install time.
diff --git a/Makefile.tool-inplace.am b/Makefile.tool-inplace.am
index 203b6cc76..3ad296a16 100644
--- a/Makefile.tool-inplace.am
+++ b/Makefile.tool-inplace.am
@@ -1,8 +1,14 @@
+
+# For a description of what these magic sed commands do, see comments
+# in Makefile.install.am (which has identical magic)
+
 all-local:
-	for f in $(noinst_PROGRAMS); do \
-	  p=`echo $$f | sed -e 's/^[^-]*-//' -e 's/\..*$$//'`; \
-	  n=`echo $$f | sed -e 's/-[^-]\{1,\}-[^-.]\{1,\}//'`; \
-	  mkdir -p $(inplacedir)/$$p; \
-	  rm -f $(inplacedir)/$$p/$$n; \
-	  ln -f -s ../../$(subdir)/$$f $(inplacedir)/$$p/$$n; \
-	done
+	if [ -n "$(noinst_PROGRAMS)" ] ; then \
+	  for f in $(noinst_PROGRAMS); do \
+	    name=`echo $$f | sed -e 's/-\([^-]*-[^-.]*\)\(\..*\)\?$$/\2/'`; \
+	    plat=`echo $$f | sed -e 's/^.*-\([^-]*-[^-.]*\)\(\..*\)\?$$/\1/'`; \
+	    mkdir -p $(inplacedir)/$$plat; \
+	    rm -f $(inplacedir)/$$plat/$$name; \
+	    ln -f -s ../../$(subdir)/$$f $(inplacedir)/$$plat/$$name; \
+	  done ; \
+	fi