diff --git a/tests/.basic_env.py.un~ b/tests/.basic_env.py.un~
deleted file mode 100644
index bc48da4dd..000000000
Binary files a/tests/.basic_env.py.un~ and /dev/null differ
diff --git a/tests/__init__.py b/tests/__init__.py
index 6b7358582..434d8c2e2 100644
--- a/tests/__init__.py
+++ b/tests/__init__.py
@@ -3,8 +3,30 @@ import os
 # Increasing fd ulimit for tests
 if os.name == "nt":
     import win32file
+    import subprocess
 
     win32file._setmaxstdio(2048)
+
+    # Workaround for two bugs:
+    #
+    # 1) gitpython-developers/GitPython#546
+    # GitPython leaves git cat-file --batch/--batch-check processes that are
+    # not cleaned up correctly, so Popen._active list has their defunct
+    # process handles, that it is not able to cleanup because of bug 2)
+    #
+    # 2) https://bugs.python.org/issue37380
+    # subprocess.Popen._internal_poll on windows is getting
+    #
+    # 	OSError: [WinError 6] The handle is invalid
+    #
+    # exception, which it doesn't ignore and so Popen is not able to cleanup
+    # old processes and that prevents it from creating any new processes at
+    # all, which results in our tests failing whenever they try to use Popen.
+
+    def noop():
+        pass
+
+    subprocess._cleanup = noop
 else:
     import resource