diff --git a/cmake/QtBuildInternalsExtra.cmake.in b/cmake/QtBuildInternalsExtra.cmake.in
index 8257bacf74d..d108fbd1cd3 100644
--- a/cmake/QtBuildInternalsExtra.cmake.in
+++ b/cmake/QtBuildInternalsExtra.cmake.in
@@ -18,15 +18,14 @@ get_filename_component(QT_BUILD_INTERNALS_RELOCATABLE_INSTALL_PREFIX
 # new_prefix: the new prefix for this repository
 # orig_prefix: the prefix that was used when qtbase was configured
 #
-# On Windows hosts, this function makes sure that we use exactly the original prefix if it points to
-# the same directory as the new one. This is needed for the case where the original prefix is passed
-# without drive letter to support installing with DESTDIR set.
+# On Windows hosts: if the original prefix does not start with a drive letter, this function removes
+# the drive letter from the new prefix. This is needed for installation with DESTDIR set.
 function(qt_internal_new_prefix out_var new_prefix orig_prefix)
     if(CMAKE_HOST_WIN32)
-        get_filename_component(real_new_prefix "${new_prefix}" REALPATH)
-        get_filename_component(real_orig_prefix "${orig_prefix}" REALPATH)
-        if(real_new_prefix STREQUAL real_orig_prefix)
-            set(new_prefix "${orig_prefix}")
+        set(drive_letter_regexp "^[a-zA-Z]:")
+        if(new_prefix MATCHES "${drive_letter_regexp}"
+            AND NOT orig_prefix MATCHES "${drive_letter_regexp}")
+            string(SUBSTRING "${new_prefix}" 2 -1 new_prefix)
         endif()
     endif()
     set(${out_var} "${new_prefix}" PARENT_SCOPE)