diff --git a/start.bat b/start.bat
index 9199a674..7e9264ee 100644
--- a/start.bat
+++ b/start.bat
@@ -1 +1,11 @@
-node src\node\server.js
+@echo off
+REM Windows and symlinks do not get along with each other, so on Windows
+REM `node_modules\ep_etherpad-lite` is sometimes a full copy of `src` not a
+REM symlink to `src`. If it is a copy, Node.js sees `src\foo.js` and
+REM `node_modules\ep_etherpad-lite\foo.js` as two independent modules with
+REM independent state, when they should be treated as the same file. To work
+REM around this, everything must consistently use either `src` or
+REM `node_modules\ep_etherpad-lite` on Windows. Because some plugins access
+REM Etherpad internals via `require('ep_etherpad-lite/foo')`,
+REM `node_modules\ep_etherpad-lite` is used here.
+node node_modules\ep_etherpad-lite\node\server.js