diff --git a/src/musredit_qt5/musredit/PAdmin.cpp b/src/musredit_qt5/musredit/PAdmin.cpp
index 47b6cf49..82b8399e 100644
--- a/src/musredit_qt5/musredit/PAdmin.cpp
+++ b/src/musredit_qt5/musredit/PAdmin.cpp
@@ -773,6 +773,34 @@ PAdmin::PAdmin() : QObject()
   fPrefPathName = pathFln;
 
   loadPrefs(fPrefPathName);
+
+  // make sure that musrfit, musrview, etc are found under the fExecPath provided
+  QString str = fExecPath + "/musrfit";
+  QFileInfo info(str);
+  if (info.exists()) {
+    if (!info.isExecutable())
+      QMessageBox::critical(0, "ERROR", "musrfit found but not recognized as executable.\nPlease check!");
+  } else {
+    QMessageBox::critical(0, "ERROR", "musrfit not found.\nHave you set the necessary system variables properly?\nPlease check the manual.\nBefore you can use musrfit, this needs to be fixed.");
+  }
+
+  // check if system variables are set properly
+  bool sysVarMissing = false;
+  QString msg("Missing System Variables:\n");
+  path = procEnv.value("ROOTSYS", "");
+  if (path.isEmpty()) {
+    msg += "> ROOTSYS\n";
+    sysVarMissing = true;
+  }
+  path = procEnv.value("MUSRFITPATH", "");
+  if (path.isEmpty()) {
+    msg += "> MUSRFITPATH\n";
+    sysVarMissing = true;
+  }
+  if (sysVarMissing) {
+    msg += "Please set this/these system variables.";
+    QMessageBox::warning(0, "WARNING", msg);
+  }
 }
 
 //--------------------------------------------------------------------------