@@ -132,10 +132,12 @@
 	AC_SUBST(UNINSTALL_LIB)
 	AC_SUBST(CLEAN_LIB)
 ])
 
 AC_DEFUN([BUILDSYS_TOUCH_DEPS], [
-	${as_echo:="echo"} "${as_me:="configure"}: Touching .deps files"
+	${as_echo:="echo"} "${as_me:="configure"}: touching .deps files"
 	for i in $(find . -name Makefile); do
-		touch -t 0001010000 $(dirname $i)/.deps
+		DEPSFILE="$(dirname $i)/.deps"
+		test -f "$DEPSFILE" && rm "$DEPSFILE"
+		touch -t 0001010000 "$DEPSFILE"
 	done
 ])