diff --git a/base/sparse/cholmod.jl b/base/sparse/cholmod.jl
index 818f3500726e1..f2a956625750f 100644
--- a/base/sparse/cholmod.jl
+++ b/base/sparse/cholmod.jl
@@ -24,6 +24,8 @@ using Base.SparseMatrix: AbstractSparseMatrix, SparseMatrixCSC, increment, indty
 
 include("cholmod_h.jl")
 
+const CHOLMOD_MIN_VERSION = v"2.1.1"
+
 ### These offsets are defined in SuiteSparse_wrapper.c
 const common_size = ccall((:jl_cholmod_common_size,:libsuitesparse_wrapper),Int,())
 
@@ -54,57 +56,54 @@ end
 
 common() = commonStruct
 
-const version_array = Array(Cint, 3)
-if Libdl.dlsym(Libdl.dlopen("libcholmod"), :cholmod_version) != C_NULL
-    ccall((:cholmod_version, :libcholmod), Cint, (Ptr{Cint},), version_array)
-else
-    ccall((:jl_cholmod_version, :libsuitesparse_wrapper), Cint, (Ptr{Cint},), version_array)
-end
-const version = VersionNumber(version_array...)
+const build_version_array = Array(Cint, 3)
+ccall((:jl_cholmod_version, :libsuitesparse_wrapper), Cint, (Ptr{Cint},), build_version_array)
+const build_version = VersionNumber(build_version_array...)
 
 function __init__()
     try
         ### Check if the linked library is compatible with the Julia code
-        if Libdl.dlsym(Libdl.dlopen("libcholmod"), :cholmod_version) == C_NULL
-            hasversion = false
+        if Libdl.dlsym_e(Libdl.dlopen("libcholmod"), :cholmod_version) != C_NULL
+            current_version_array = Array(Cint, 3)
+            ccall((:cholmod_version, :libcholmod), Cint, (Ptr{Cint},), current_version_array)
+            current_version = VersionNumber(current_version_array...)
+        else # CHOLMOD < 2.1.1 does not include cholmod_version()
+            current_version = v"0.0.0"
+        end
+
+
+        if current_version < CHOLMOD_MIN_VERSION
+		    warn("""
+
+		        CHOLMOD version incompatibility
+
+		        Julia was compiled with CHOLMOD version $build_version. It is
+		        currently linked with a version older than
+		        $(CHOLMOD_MIN_VERSION). This might cause Julia to
+		        terminate when working with sparse matrix factorizations,
+		        e.g. solving systems of equations with \\.
+
+		        It is recommended that you use Julia with a recent version
+		        of CHOLMOD, or download the generic binaries
+		        from www.julialang.org, which ship with the correct
+		        versions of all dependencies.
+		    """)
+        elseif build_version_array[1] != current_version_array[1]
             warn("""
 
                 CHOLMOD version incompatibility
 
-                Julia was compiled with CHOLMOD version $version. It is
-                currently linked with a version older than 2.1.0. This
-                might cause Julia to terminate when working with sparse
-                matrix factorizations, e.g. solving systems of equations
-                with \\.
+                Julia was compiled with CHOLMOD version $build_version. It is
+                currently linked with version $current_version.
+                This might cause Julia to terminate when working with
+                sparse matrix factorizations, e.g. solving systems of
+                equations with \\.
 
-                It is recommended that you use Julia with a recent version
-                of CHOLMOD, or download the OS X or generic Linux binaries
-                from www.julialang.org, which ship with the correct
-                versions of all dependencies.
+                It is recommended that you use Julia with the same major
+                version of CHOLMOD as the one used during the build, or
+                download the generic binaries from www.julialang.org,
+                which ship with the correct versions of all dependencies.
             """)
-        else
-            hasversion = true
-            tmp = Array(Cint, 3)
-            ccall((:cholmod_version, :libcholmod), Cint, (Ptr{Cint},), version_array)
-            ccall((:jl_cholmod_version, :libsuitesparse_wrapper), Cint, (Ptr{Cint},), tmp)
-            if tmp != version_array
-                warn("""
-
-                     CHOLMOD version incompatibility
-
-                     Julia was compiled with CHOLMOD version $version. It
-                     is currently linked with a version older than
-                     $(VersionNumber(tmp...)). This might cause Julia to
-                     terminate when working with sparse matrix
-                     factorizations, e.g. solving systems of equations
-                     with \\.
-
-                     It is recommended that you use Julia with a recent
-                     version of CHOLMOD, or download the OS X or generic
-                     Linux binary from www.julialang.org, which ship with
-                     the correct versions of all dependencies.
-                """)
-            end
         end
 
         intsize = Int(ccall((:jl_cholmod_sizeof_long,:libsuitesparse_wrapper),Csize_t,()))
@@ -151,7 +150,7 @@ function __init__()
         set_print_level(commonStruct, 0) # no printing from CHOLMOD by default
 
         # Register gc tracked allocator if CHOLMOD is new enough
-        if hasversion && version >= v"3.0.0"
+        if current_version >= v"3.0.0"
             cnfg = cglobal((:SuiteSparse_config, :libsuitesparseconfig), Ptr{Void})
             unsafe_store!(cnfg, cglobal(:jl_malloc, Ptr{Void}), 1)
             unsafe_store!(cnfg, cglobal(:jl_calloc, Ptr{Void}), 2)
@@ -246,7 +245,7 @@ Sparse{Tv<:VTypes}(p::Ptr{C_Sparse{Tv}}) = Sparse{Tv}(p)
 
 # Factor
 
-if version >= v"2.1.0" # CHOLMOD version 2.1.0 or later
+if build_version >= v"2.1.0" # CHOLMOD version 2.1.0 or later
     immutable C_Factor{Tv<:VTypes}
         n::Csize_t
         minor::Csize_t