diff --git a/install.ps1 b/install.ps1
index b1ee9018..37a6b587 100644
--- a/install.ps1
+++ b/install.ps1
@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@ param(
 
 $ErrorActionPreference = "Stop"
 $defaultInstallUrl = "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Abdess/retrobios/main/install.py"
-$defaultInstallSha256 = "3ea3a3e21012cc2dbf24c08a0ad314233ade04e62c0d2164b76146f1b361d714"
+$defaultInstallSha256 = "42b1747ae867d41da39b11daf783c0106daa6ed18861a2214c196f3a5c9a3c60"
 $maximumInstallerBytes = 2MB
 $installer = if ($PSScriptRoot) { Join-Path $PSScriptRoot "install.py" } else { $null }
 $temporary = $null
diff --git a/install.py b/install.py
index d91be472..a906bb68 100644
--- a/install.py
+++ b/install.py
@@ -954,8 +954,13 @@ def fetch_manifest(plat: str) -> dict:
         sys.exit(1)
 
 
-def fetch_targets(plat: str) -> dict:
-    """Download target core list. Returns empty dict on 404."""
+def fetch_targets(plat: str) -> "dict | None":
+    """Download the target core list.
+
+    Empty on 404, where the platform publishes no targets. None when the list
+    could not be read: a timeout says nothing about the platform, and
+    answering "no targets" for it sent users to the full pack.
+    """
     url = TARGETS_URL.format(platform=plat)
     try:
         with urllib.request.urlopen(url, timeout=30) as resp:
@@ -965,10 +970,11 @@ def fetch_targets(plat: str) -> dict:
     except urllib.error.HTTPError as exc:
         if exc.code == 404:
             return {}
-        print(f"  Warning: failed to fetch targets for {plat}: {exc}", file=sys.stderr)
-        return {}
-    except (urllib.error.URLError, OSError, ValueError):
-        return {}
+        print(f"  Error: failed to fetch targets for {plat}: {exc}", file=sys.stderr)
+        return None
+    except (urllib.error.URLError, OSError, ValueError) as exc:
+        print(f"  Error: failed to fetch targets for {plat}: {exc}", file=sys.stderr)
+        return None
 
 
 def _filter_by_target(
@@ -1580,6 +1586,8 @@ def main() -> None:
 
         if args.list_targets:
             targets = fetch_targets(plat_name)
+            if targets is None:
+                sys.exit(1)
             if not targets:
                 print(f"  No targets available for {plat_name}")
             else:
@@ -1592,6 +1600,8 @@ def main() -> None:
         # Target filtering
         if args.target:
             targets = fetch_targets(plat_name)
+            if targets is None:
+                sys.exit(1)
             target_info = targets.get(args.target)
             if target_info is None:
                 # Carrying on would install every file, which is the opposite
diff --git a/install.sh b/install.sh
index 8a26dd5d..1d6d7bdb 100755
--- a/install.sh
+++ b/install.sh
@@ -18,7 +18,7 @@ esac
 TEMP_INSTALLER=""
 TEMP_DIRECTORY=""
 DEFAULT_INSTALL_URL="https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Abdess/retrobios/main/install.py"
-DEFAULT_INSTALL_SHA256="3ea3a3e21012cc2dbf24c08a0ad314233ade04e62c0d2164b76146f1b361d714"
+DEFAULT_INSTALL_SHA256="42b1747ae867d41da39b11daf783c0106daa6ed18861a2214c196f3a5c9a3c60"
 MAX_INSTALLER_BYTES=2097152
 
 cleanup() {
diff --git a/tests/test_install.py b/tests/test_install.py
index 2722d366..6e48468f 100644
--- a/tests/test_install.py
+++ b/tests/test_install.py
@@ -1357,5 +1357,29 @@ class TestAvailablePlatforms(unittest.TestCase):
             self.assertIn("retroarch", proc.stdout)
 
 
+class TargetListFailureIsNotAnAnswer(unittest.TestCase):
+    """A timeout is not 'no targets': it sent users to the full pack."""
+
+    def test_unreachable_list_is_none(self):
+        import urllib.error
+        from unittest import mock
+
+        def boom(*args, **kwargs):
+            raise urllib.error.URLError("timed out")
+
+        with mock.patch.object(install.urllib.request, "urlopen", boom), \
+                contextlib.redirect_stderr(io.StringIO()):
+            self.assertIsNone(install.fetch_targets("retroarch"))
+
+    def test_absent_list_is_empty(self):
+        import urllib.error
+        from unittest import mock
+
+        def missing(url, *args, **kwargs):
+            raise urllib.error.HTTPError(url, 404, "Not Found", {}, None)
+
+        with mock.patch.object(install.urllib.request, "urlopen", missing):
+            self.assertEqual(install.fetch_targets("retroarch"), {})
+
 if __name__ == "__main__":
     unittest.main()