diff --git a/code/nel/src/misc/big_file.cpp b/code/nel/src/misc/big_file.cpp
index bcaae8e9d..1521efb5f 100644
--- a/code/nel/src/misc/big_file.cpp
+++ b/code/nel/src/misc/big_file.cpp
@@ -402,6 +402,8 @@ FILE* CBigFile::getFile (const std::string &sFileName, uint32 &rFileSize,
 	if(handle.File== NULL)
 	{
 		handle.File = fopen (bnp->BigFileName.c_str(), "rb");
+		if (handle.File == NULL)
+		  nlwarning ("bnp: can't fopen big file '%s' error %d '%s'", bnp->BigFileName.c_str(), errno, strerror(errno));
 		if (handle.File == NULL)
 			return NULL;
 	}