diff --git a/scripts/windows/deploy-host.ps1 b/scripts/windows/deploy-host.ps1
index 7d0d148..cf8c0e9 100644
--- a/scripts/windows/deploy-host.ps1
+++ b/scripts/windows/deploy-host.ps1
@@ -33,6 +33,14 @@ $vcvars = Find-VcVars
 Write-Host "vcvars : $vcvars"
 Set-Location $repo
 
+# Load the persisted build env (Machine scope) into THIS process, so the build sees it even
+# if this shell was started before setup-build-env.ps1 ran (env is inherited at spawn time).
+foreach ($k in 'PUNKTFUNK_NVENC_LIB_DIR','LIBCLANG_PATH','CMAKE_POLICY_VERSION_MINIMUM') {
+  $v = [Environment]::GetEnvironmentVariable($k, 'Machine')
+  if ($v) { [Environment]::SetEnvironmentVariable($k, $v, 'Process'); Write-Host "env    : $k=$v" }
+  else { Write-Warning "env $k not set (run setup-build-env.ps1)" }
+}
+
 # 1. stop the service so the .exe is writable
 Write-Host "stopping $svc ..."
 & sc.exe stop $svc | Out-Null