diff --git a/wp-includes/wp-db.php b/wp-includes/wp-db.php
index 10345e3d41..29e6f8cbdc 100644
--- a/wp-includes/wp-db.php
+++ b/wp-includes/wp-db.php
@@ -40,15 +40,16 @@ class wpdb {
 	function wpdb($dbuser, $dbpassword, $dbname, $dbhost) {
 		$this->dbh = @mysql_connect($dbhost,$dbuser,$dbpassword);
 		if (!$this->dbh) {
-			die("<div>
-			<p><strong>Error establishing a database connection!</strong> This probably means that the connection information in your <code>wp-config.php</code> file is incorrect. Double check it and try again.</p>
-			<ul>
-			<li>Are you sure you have the correct user/password?</li>
-			<li>Are you sure that you have typed the correct hostname?</li>
-			<li>Are you sure that the database server is running?</li>
-			</ul>
-			<p><a href='http://wordpress.org/support/'>WordPress Support Forums</a></p>
-			</div>");
+			$this->bail("
+<h1>Error establishing a database connection</h1>
+<p>This either means that the username and password information in your <code>wp-config.php</code> file is incorrect or we can't contact the database server at <code>$dbhost</code>.</p>
+<ul>
+	<li>Are you sure you have the correct username and password?</li>
+	<li>Are you sure that you have typed the correct hostname?</li>
+	<li>Are you sure that the database server is running?</li>
+</ul>
+<p>If you're unsure what these terms mean you should probably contact your host. If you still need help you can always visit the <a href='http://wordpress.org/support/'>WordPress Support Forums</a>.</p>
+");
 		}
 
 		$this->select($dbname);
@@ -59,14 +60,14 @@ class wpdb {
 
 	function select($db) {
 		if (!@mysql_select_db($db,$this->dbh)) {
-			die("
-			<p>We're having a little trouble selecting the proper database for WordPress.</p>
-			<ul>
-			<li>Are you sure it exists?</li>
-			<li>Your database name is currently specified as <code>" . DB_NAME ."</code>. Is this correct?</li>
-			<li>On some systems the name of your database is prefixed with your username, so it would be like username_wordpress. Could that be the problem?</li>
-			</ul>
-			<p><a href='http://wordpress.org/support/'>WordPress Support Forums</a></p>");
+			$this->bail("
+<h1>Can&#8217;t select database</h1>
+<p>We were able to connect to the database server (which means your username and password is okay) but not able to select the <code>$db</code> database.</p>
+<ul>
+<li>Are you sure it exists?</li>
+<li>On some systems the name of your database is prefixed with your username, so it would be like username_wordpress. Could that be the problem?</li>
+</ul>
+<p>If you continue to have connection problems you should contact your host. If all else fails you may find help at the <a href='http://wordpress.org/support/'>WordPress Support Forums</a>.</p>");
 		}
 	}
 
@@ -276,6 +277,59 @@ class wpdb {
 			}
 		}
 	}
+
+	function bail($message) { // Just wraps errors in a nice header and footer
+echo <<<HEAD
+<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd">
+<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
+<head>
+	<title>WordPress &rsaquo; Installation</title>
+	<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8" />
+	<style media="screen" type="text/css">
+	<!--
+	html {
+		background: #eee;
+	}
+	body {
+		background: #fff;
+		color: #000;
+		font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif;
+		margin-left: 25%;
+		margin-right: 25%;
+		padding: .2em 2em;
+	}
+	
+	h1 {
+		color: #006;
+		font-size: 18px;
+		font-weight: lighter;
+	}
+	
+	h2 {
+		font-size: 16px;
+	}
+	
+	p, li, dt {
+		line-height: 140%;
+		padding-bottom: 2px;
+	}
+
+	ul, ol {
+		padding: 5px 5px 5px 20px;
+	}
+	#logo {
+		margin-bottom: 2em;
+	}
+	-->
+	</style>
+</head>
+<body>
+<h1 id="logo"><img alt="WordPress" src="http://static.wordpress.org/logo.png" /></h1>
+HEAD;
+echo $message;
+echo "</body></html>";
+die();
+	}
 }
 
 $wpdb = new wpdb(DB_USER, DB_PASSWORD, DB_NAME, DB_HOST);
