diff --git a/cmake/CMakeLists.txt b/cmake/CMakeLists.txt
index d9887925ec..0d041b2aa9 100644
--- a/cmake/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/cmake/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -343,20 +343,22 @@ find_program(GZIP_EXECUTABLE gzip)
 find_package_handle_standard_args(GZIP REQUIRED_VARS GZIP_EXECUTABLE)
 option(WITH_GZIP "Enable GZIP support" ${GZIP_FOUND})
 if(WITH_GZIP)
-  if(NOT GZIP_FOUND)
+  if(GZIP_FOUND OR ((CMAKE_SYSTEM_NAME STREQUAL Windows) AND CMAKE_CROSSCOMPILING))
+    target_compile_definitions(lammps PRIVATE -DLAMMPS_GZIP)
+  else()
     message(FATAL_ERROR "gzip executable not found")
   endif()
-  target_compile_definitions(lammps PRIVATE -DLAMMPS_GZIP)
 endif()
 
 find_program(FFMPEG_EXECUTABLE ffmpeg)
 find_package_handle_standard_args(FFMPEG REQUIRED_VARS FFMPEG_EXECUTABLE)
 option(WITH_FFMPEG "Enable FFMPEG support" ${FFMPEG_FOUND})
 if(WITH_FFMPEG)
-  if(NOT FFMPEG_FOUND)
+  if(FFMPEG_FOUND OR ((CMAKE_SYSTEM_NAME STREQUAL Windows) AND CMAKE_CROSSCOMPILING))
+    target_compile_definitions(lammps PRIVATE -DLAMMPS_FFMPEG)
+  else()
     message(FATAL_ERROR "ffmpeg executable not found")
   endif()
-  target_compile_definitions(lammps PRIVATE -DLAMMPS_FFMPEG)
 endif()
 
 if(BUILD_SHARED_LIBS)