diff --git a/src/shogun/classifier/svm/SVM.cpp b/src/shogun/classifier/svm/SVM.cpp
index cda852497ae..eb9d0536b3d 100644
--- a/src/shogun/classifier/svm/SVM.cpp
+++ b/src/shogun/classifier/svm/SVM.cpp
@@ -19,10 +19,6 @@
 
 #include <string.h>
 
-#ifdef HAVE_PTHREAD
-#include <pthread.h>
-#endif
-
 using namespace shogun;
 
 CSVM::CSVM(int32_t num_sv)
diff --git a/src/shogun/classifier/svm/SVMLight.cpp b/src/shogun/classifier/svm/SVMLight.cpp
index 282a8f4b858..0facabb00b9 100644
--- a/src/shogun/classifier/svm/SVMLight.cpp
+++ b/src/shogun/classifier/svm/SVMLight.cpp
@@ -1049,7 +1049,13 @@ void CSVMLight::compute_matrices_for_optimization_parallel(
 	float64_t *a, float64_t *lin, float64_t *c, int32_t varnum, int32_t totdoc,
 	float64_t *aicache, QP *qp)
 {
-	if (parallel->get_num_threads()<=1)
+	// TODO: port to use OpenMP backend instead of pthread
+#ifdef HAVE_PTHREAD
+	int32_t num_threads=parallel->get_num_threads();
+#else
+	int32_t num_threads=1;
+#endif
+	if (num_threads < 2)
 	{
 		compute_matrices_for_optimization(docs, label, exclude_from_eq_const, eq_target,
 												   chosen, active2dnum, key, a, lin, c,
@@ -1079,7 +1085,7 @@ void CSVMLight::compute_matrices_for_optimization_parallel(
 			qp->opt_g0[i]=lin[key[i]];
 		}
 
-		ASSERT(parallel->get_num_threads()>1)
+		ASSERT(num_threads>1)
 		int32_t *KI=SG_MALLOC(int32_t, varnum*varnum);
 		int32_t *KJ=SG_MALLOC(int32_t, varnum*varnum);
 		int32_t Knum=0 ;
@@ -1099,11 +1105,11 @@ void CSVMLight::compute_matrices_for_optimization_parallel(
 		}
 		ASSERT(Knum<=varnum*(varnum+1)/2)
 
-		pthread_t* threads = SG_MALLOC(pthread_t, parallel->get_num_threads()-1);
-		S_THREAD_PARAM_KERNEL* params = SG_MALLOC(S_THREAD_PARAM_KERNEL, parallel->get_num_threads()-1);
-		int32_t step= Knum/parallel->get_num_threads();
+		pthread_t* threads = SG_MALLOC(pthread_t, num_threads-1);
+		S_THREAD_PARAM_KERNEL* params = SG_MALLOC(S_THREAD_PARAM_KERNEL, num_threads-1);
+		int32_t step= Knum/num_threads;
 		//SG_DEBUG("\nkernel-step size: %i\n", step)
-		for (int32_t t=0; t<parallel->get_num_threads()-1; t++)
+		for (int32_t t=0; t<num_threads-1; t++)
 		{
 			params[t].svmlight = this;
 			params[t].start = t*step;
@@ -1113,10 +1119,10 @@ void CSVMLight::compute_matrices_for_optimization_parallel(
 			params[t].Kval=Kval ;
 			pthread_create(&threads[t], NULL, CSVMLight::compute_kernel_helper, (void*)&params[t]);
 		}
-		for (i=params[parallel->get_num_threads()-2].end; i<Knum; i++)
+		for (i=params[num_threads-2].end; i<Knum; i++)
 			Kval[i]=compute_kernel(KI[i],KJ[i]) ;
 
-		for (int32_t t=0; t<parallel->get_num_threads()-1; t++)
+		for (int32_t t=0; t<num_threads-1; t++)
 			pthread_join(threads[t], NULL);
 
 		SG_FREE(params);
@@ -1458,7 +1464,13 @@ void CSVMLight::update_linear_component(
 
 			if (num_working>0)
 			{
-				if (parallel->get_num_threads() < 2)
+				// TODO: port to use OpenMP backend instead of pthread
+#ifdef HAVE_PTHREAD
+				int32_t num_threads=parallel->get_num_threads();
+#else
+				int32_t num_threads=1;
+#endif
+				if (num_threads < 2)
 				{
 					for (jj=0;(j=active2dnum[jj])>=0;jj++) {
 						lin[j]+=kernel->compute_optimized(docs[j]);
@@ -1470,13 +1482,13 @@ void CSVMLight::update_linear_component(
 					int32_t num_elem = 0 ;
 					for (jj=0;(j=active2dnum[jj])>=0;jj++) num_elem++ ;
 
-					pthread_t* threads = SG_MALLOC(pthread_t, parallel->get_num_threads()-1);
-					S_THREAD_PARAM_SVMLIGHT* params = SG_MALLOC(S_THREAD_PARAM_SVMLIGHT, parallel->get_num_threads()-1);
+					pthread_t* threads = SG_MALLOC(pthread_t, num_threads-1);
+					S_THREAD_PARAM_SVMLIGHT* params = SG_MALLOC(S_THREAD_PARAM_SVMLIGHT, num_threads-1);
 					int32_t start = 0 ;
-					int32_t step = num_elem/parallel->get_num_threads();
+					int32_t step = num_elem/num_threads;
 					int32_t end = step ;
 
-					for (int32_t t=0; t<parallel->get_num_threads()-1; t++)
+					for (int32_t t=0; t<num_threads-1; t++)
 					{
 						params[t].kernel = kernel ;
 						params[t].lin = lin ;
@@ -1489,11 +1501,11 @@ void CSVMLight::update_linear_component(
 						pthread_create(&threads[t], NULL, update_linear_component_linadd_helper, (void*)&params[t]) ;
 					}
 
-					for (jj=params[parallel->get_num_threads()-2].end;(j=active2dnum[jj])>=0;jj++) {
+					for (jj=params[num_threads-2].end;(j=active2dnum[jj])>=0;jj++) {
 						lin[j]+=kernel->compute_optimized(docs[j]);
 					}
 					void* ret;
-					for (int32_t t=0; t<parallel->get_num_threads()-1; t++)
+					for (int32_t t=0; t<num_threads-1; t++)
 						pthread_join(threads[t], &ret) ;
 
 					SG_FREE(params);
@@ -1631,8 +1643,14 @@ void CSVMLight::update_linear_component_mkl_linadd(
 			kernel->add_to_normal(docs[i], (a[i]-a_old[i])*(float64_t)label[i]);
 		}
 	}
+	// TODO: port to use OpenMP backend instead of pthread
+#ifdef HAVE_PTHREAD
+	int32_t num_threads=parallel->get_num_threads();
+#else
+	int32_t num_threads=1;
+#endif
 
-	if (parallel->get_num_threads() < 2)
+	if (num_threads < 2)
 	{
 		// determine contributions of different kernels
 		for (int32_t i=0; i<num; i++)
@@ -1641,11 +1659,11 @@ void CSVMLight::update_linear_component_mkl_linadd(
 #ifdef HAVE_PTHREAD
 	else
 	{
-		pthread_t* threads = SG_MALLOC(pthread_t, parallel->get_num_threads()-1);
-		S_THREAD_PARAM_SVMLIGHT* params = SG_MALLOC(S_THREAD_PARAM_SVMLIGHT, parallel->get_num_threads()-1);
-		int32_t step= num/parallel->get_num_threads();
+		pthread_t* threads = SG_MALLOC(pthread_t, num_threads-1);
+		S_THREAD_PARAM_SVMLIGHT* params = SG_MALLOC(S_THREAD_PARAM_SVMLIGHT, num_threads-1);
+		int32_t step= num/num_threads;
 
-		for (int32_t t=0; t<parallel->get_num_threads()-1; t++)
+		for (int32_t t=0; t<num_threads-1; t++)
 		{
 			params[t].kernel = kernel;
 			params[t].W = W;
@@ -1654,10 +1672,10 @@ void CSVMLight::update_linear_component_mkl_linadd(
 			pthread_create(&threads[t], NULL, CSVMLight::update_linear_component_mkl_linadd_helper, (void*)&params[t]);
 		}
 
-		for (int32_t i=params[parallel->get_num_threads()-2].end; i<num; i++)
+		for (int32_t i=params[num_threads-2].end; i<num; i++)
 			kernel->compute_by_subkernel(i,&W[i*num_kernels]);
 
-		for (int32_t t=0; t<parallel->get_num_threads()-1; t++)
+		for (int32_t t=0; t<num_threads-1; t++)
 			pthread_join(threads[t], NULL);
 
 		SG_FREE(params);
@@ -2128,7 +2146,12 @@ void CSVMLight::reactivate_inactive_examples(
 
 		  if (num_modified>0)
 		  {
-			  int32_t num_threads=parallel->get_num_threads();
+		  		// TODO: port to use OpenMP backend instead of pthread
+#ifdef HAVE_PTHREAD
+				int32_t num_threads=parallel->get_num_threads();
+#else
+				int32_t num_threads=1;
+#endif
 			  ASSERT(num_threads>0)
 			  if (num_threads < 2)
 			  {
diff --git a/src/shogun/clustering/Hierarchical.cpp b/src/shogun/clustering/Hierarchical.cpp
index b66d25a4103..02e9335c681 100644
--- a/src/shogun/clustering/Hierarchical.cpp
+++ b/src/shogun/clustering/Hierarchical.cpp
@@ -15,10 +15,6 @@
 #include <shogun/mathematics/Math.h>
 #include <shogun/base/Parallel.h>
 
-#ifdef HAVE_PTHREAD
-#include <pthread.h>
-#endif
-
 using namespace shogun;
 
 #ifndef DOXYGEN_SHOULD_SKIP_THIS
diff --git a/src/shogun/converter/KernelLocallyLinearEmbedding.cpp b/src/shogun/converter/KernelLocallyLinearEmbedding.cpp
index fbc9f1553be..352bc72d2fe 100644
--- a/src/shogun/converter/KernelLocallyLinearEmbedding.cpp
+++ b/src/shogun/converter/KernelLocallyLinearEmbedding.cpp
@@ -12,10 +12,6 @@
 #include <shogun/io/SGIO.h>
 #include <shogun/lib/tapkee/tapkee_shogun.hpp>
 
-#ifdef HAVE_PTHREAD
-#include <pthread.h>
-#endif
-
 using namespace shogun;
 
 CKernelLocallyLinearEmbedding::CKernelLocallyLinearEmbedding() :
diff --git a/src/shogun/distance/Distance.cpp b/src/shogun/distance/Distance.cpp
index 1cce8c0624a..24cf54d1818 100644
--- a/src/shogun/distance/Distance.cpp
+++ b/src/shogun/distance/Distance.cpp
@@ -349,6 +349,7 @@ SGMatrix<T> CDistance::get_distance_matrix()
 
 		result=SG_MALLOC(T, total_num);
 
+	// TODO: port this to use OpenMP
 #ifdef HAVE_PTHREAD
 	int32_t num_threads=parallel->get_num_threads();
 #else
diff --git a/src/shogun/features/DotFeatures.cpp b/src/shogun/features/DotFeatures.cpp
index 6313f88947e..16fe0c8f6f8 100644
--- a/src/shogun/features/DotFeatures.cpp
+++ b/src/shogun/features/DotFeatures.cpp
@@ -77,15 +77,18 @@ void CDotFeatures::dense_dot_range(float64_t* output, int32_t start, int32_t sto
 	int32_t num_vectors=stop-start;
 	ASSERT(num_vectors>0)
 
+	// TODO: port to use OpenMP backend instead of pthread
+#ifdef HAVE_PTHREAD
 	int32_t num_threads=parallel->get_num_threads();
+#else
+	int32_t num_threads=1;
+#endif
 	ASSERT(num_threads>0)
 
 	CSignal::clear_cancel();
 
-#ifdef HAVE_PTHREAD
 	if (num_threads < 2)
 	{
-#endif
 		DF_THREAD_PARAM params;
 		params.df=this;
 		params.sub_index=NULL;
@@ -98,8 +101,8 @@ void CDotFeatures::dense_dot_range(float64_t* output, int32_t start, int32_t sto
 		params.bias=b;
 		params.progress=false; //true;
 		dense_dot_range_helper((void*) &params);
-#ifdef HAVE_PTHREAD
 	}
+#ifdef HAVE_PTHREAD
 	else
 	{
 		pthread_t* threads = SG_MALLOC(pthread_t, num_threads-1);
@@ -155,15 +158,18 @@ void CDotFeatures::dense_dot_range_subset(int32_t* sub_index, int32_t num, float
 	ASSERT(sub_index)
 	ASSERT(output)
 
+	// TODO: port to use OpenMP backend instead of pthread
+#ifdef HAVE_PTHREAD
 	int32_t num_threads=parallel->get_num_threads();
+#else
+	int32_t num_threads=1;
+#endif
 	ASSERT(num_threads>0)
 
 	CSignal::clear_cancel();
 
-#ifdef HAVE_PTHREAD
 	if (num_threads < 2)
 	{
-#endif
 		DF_THREAD_PARAM params;
 		params.df=this;
 		params.sub_index=sub_index;
@@ -176,8 +182,8 @@ void CDotFeatures::dense_dot_range_subset(int32_t* sub_index, int32_t num, float
 		params.bias=b;
 		params.progress=false; //true;
 		dense_dot_range_helper((void*) &params);
-#ifdef HAVE_PTHREAD
 	}
+#ifdef HAVE_PTHREAD
 	else
 	{
 		pthread_t* threads = SG_MALLOC(pthread_t, num_threads-1);
diff --git a/src/shogun/features/hashed/HashedWDFeaturesTransposed.cpp b/src/shogun/features/hashed/HashedWDFeaturesTransposed.cpp
index 3d038fcdce5..cda8ab0b491 100644
--- a/src/shogun/features/hashed/HashedWDFeaturesTransposed.cpp
+++ b/src/shogun/features/hashed/HashedWDFeaturesTransposed.cpp
@@ -211,7 +211,12 @@ void CHashedWDFeaturesTransposed::dense_dot_range(float64_t* output, int32_t sta
 	int32_t num_vectors=stop-start;
 	ASSERT(num_vectors>0)
 
+	// TODO: port to use OpenMP backend instead of pthread
+#ifdef HAVE_PTHREAD
 	int32_t num_threads=parallel->get_num_threads();
+#else
+	int32_t num_threads=1;
+#endif
 	ASSERT(num_threads>0)
 
 	CSignal::clear_cancel();
@@ -219,10 +224,8 @@ void CHashedWDFeaturesTransposed::dense_dot_range(float64_t* output, int32_t sta
 	if (dim != w_dim)
 		SG_ERROR("Dimensions don't match, vec_len=%d, w_dim=%d\n", dim, w_dim)
 
-#ifdef HAVE_PTHREAD
 	if (num_threads < 2)
 	{
-#endif
 		HASHEDWD_THREAD_PARAM params;
 		params.hf=this;
 		params.sub_index=NULL;
@@ -235,8 +238,8 @@ void CHashedWDFeaturesTransposed::dense_dot_range(float64_t* output, int32_t sta
 		params.progress=false; //true;
 		params.index=index;
 		dense_dot_range_helper((void*) &params);
-#ifdef HAVE_PTHREAD
 	}
+#ifdef HAVE_PTHREAD
 	else
 	{
 		pthread_t* threads = SG_MALLOC(pthread_t, num_threads-1);
@@ -295,7 +298,12 @@ void CHashedWDFeaturesTransposed::dense_dot_range_subset(int32_t* sub_index, int
 
 	uint32_t* index=SG_MALLOC(uint32_t, num);
 
+	// TODO: port to use OpenMP backend instead of pthread
+#ifdef HAVE_PTHREAD
 	int32_t num_threads=parallel->get_num_threads();
+#else
+	int32_t num_threads=1;
+#endif
 	ASSERT(num_threads>0)
 
 	CSignal::clear_cancel();
@@ -303,10 +311,8 @@ void CHashedWDFeaturesTransposed::dense_dot_range_subset(int32_t* sub_index, int
 	if (dim != w_dim)
 		SG_ERROR("Dimensions don't match, vec_len=%d, w_dim=%d\n", dim, w_dim)
 
-#ifdef HAVE_PTHREAD
 	if (num_threads < 2)
 	{
-#endif
 		HASHEDWD_THREAD_PARAM params;
 		params.hf=this;
 		params.sub_index=sub_index;
@@ -319,8 +325,8 @@ void CHashedWDFeaturesTransposed::dense_dot_range_subset(int32_t* sub_index, int
 		params.progress=false; //true;
 		params.index=index;
 		dense_dot_range_helper((void*) &params);
-#ifdef HAVE_PTHREAD
 	}
+#ifdef HAVE_PTHREAD
 	else
 	{
 		pthread_t* threads = SG_MALLOC(pthread_t, num_threads-1);
diff --git a/src/shogun/kernel/CombinedKernel.cpp b/src/shogun/kernel/CombinedKernel.cpp
index c7784d7b985..9e398c4add7 100644
--- a/src/shogun/kernel/CombinedKernel.cpp
+++ b/src/shogun/kernel/CombinedKernel.cpp
@@ -446,7 +446,12 @@ void CCombinedKernel::emulate_compute_batch(
 		{
 			k->init_optimization(num_suppvec, IDX, weights);
 
+			// TODO: port to use OpenMP backend instead of pthread
+#ifdef HAVE_PTHREAD
 			int32_t num_threads=parallel->get_num_threads();
+#else
+			int32_t num_threads=1;
+#endif
 			ASSERT(num_threads>0)
 
 			if (num_threads < 2)
@@ -503,7 +508,12 @@ void CCombinedKernel::emulate_compute_batch(
 
 		if (k->get_combined_kernel_weight()!=0)
 		{ // compute the usual way for any non-optimized kernel
+			// TODO: port to use OpenMP backend instead of pthread
+#ifdef HAVE_PTHREAD
 			int32_t num_threads=parallel->get_num_threads();
+#else
+			int32_t num_threads=1;
+#endif
 			ASSERT(num_threads>0)
 
 			if (num_threads < 2)
diff --git a/src/shogun/kernel/string/SpectrumRBFKernel.cpp b/src/shogun/kernel/string/SpectrumRBFKernel.cpp
index 3abf627b96f..636ffd87532 100644
--- a/src/shogun/kernel/string/SpectrumRBFKernel.cpp
+++ b/src/shogun/kernel/string/SpectrumRBFKernel.cpp
@@ -30,11 +30,6 @@
 
 #include <assert.h>
 
-#ifdef HAVE_PTHREAD
-#include <pthread.h>
-#endif
-
-
 using namespace shogun;
 
 CSpectrumRBFKernel::CSpectrumRBFKernel()
diff --git a/src/shogun/kernel/string/WeightedDegreePositionStringKernel.cpp b/src/shogun/kernel/string/WeightedDegreePositionStringKernel.cpp
index 46c6c635fdc..809840b2ecd 100644
--- a/src/shogun/kernel/string/WeightedDegreePositionStringKernel.cpp
+++ b/src/shogun/kernel/string/WeightedDegreePositionStringKernel.cpp
@@ -1244,18 +1244,19 @@ void CWeightedDegreePositionStringKernel::compute_batch(
 
 	int32_t num_feat=((CStringFeatures<char>*) rhs)->get_max_vector_length();
 	ASSERT(num_feat>0)
+	// TODO: port to use OpenMP backend instead of pthread
+#ifdef HAVE_PTHREAD
 	int32_t num_threads=parallel->get_num_threads();
+#else
+	int32_t num_threads=1;
+#endif
 	ASSERT(num_threads>0)
 	int32_t* vec=SG_MALLOC(int32_t, num_threads*num_feat);
 
 	if (num_threads < 2)
 	{
-#ifdef WIN32
-	   for (int32_t j=0; j<num_feat; j++)
-#else
        CSignal::clear_cancel();
 	   for (int32_t j=0; j<num_feat && !CSignal::cancel_computations(); j++)
-#endif
 			{
 				init_optimization(num_suppvec, IDX, alphas, j);
 				S_THREAD_PARAM_WDS<DNATrie> params;
diff --git a/src/shogun/kernel/string/WeightedDegreeStringKernel.cpp b/src/shogun/kernel/string/WeightedDegreeStringKernel.cpp
index 0150f19f882..50632dac655 100644
--- a/src/shogun/kernel/string/WeightedDegreeStringKernel.cpp
+++ b/src/shogun/kernel/string/WeightedDegreeStringKernel.cpp
@@ -21,7 +21,7 @@
 #include <shogun/features/Features.h>
 #include <shogun/features/StringFeatures.h>
 
-#ifndef WIN32
+#ifdef HAVE_PTHREAD
 #include <pthread.h>
 #endif
 
@@ -875,18 +875,19 @@ void CWeightedDegreeStringKernel::compute_batch(
 
 	int32_t num_feat=((CStringFeatures<char>*) rhs)->get_max_vector_length();
 	ASSERT(num_feat>0)
+	// TODO: port to use OpenMP backend instead of pthread
+#ifdef HAVE_PTHREAD
 	int32_t num_threads=parallel->get_num_threads();
+#else
+	int32_t num_threads=1;
+#endif
 	ASSERT(num_threads>0)
 	int32_t* vec=SG_MALLOC(int32_t, num_threads*num_feat);
 
 	if (num_threads < 2)
 	{
-#ifdef CYGWIN
-		for (int32_t j=0; j<num_feat; j++)
-#else
         CSignal::clear_cancel();
 		for (int32_t j=0; j<num_feat && !CSignal::cancel_computations(); j++)
-#endif
 		{
 			init_optimization(num_suppvec, IDX, alphas, j);
 			S_THREAD_PARAM_WD params;
diff --git a/src/shogun/lib/external/shogun_libsvm.cpp b/src/shogun/lib/external/shogun_libsvm.cpp
index 6d8df4eda40..015a40c373c 100644
--- a/src/shogun/lib/external/shogun_libsvm.cpp
+++ b/src/shogun/lib/external/shogun_libsvm.cpp
@@ -269,7 +269,12 @@ class LibSVMKernel: public QMatrix {
 
 	void compute_Q_parallel(Qfloat* data, float64_t* lab, int32_t i, int32_t start, int32_t len) const
 	{
-		int32_t num_threads=sg_parallel->get_num_threads();
+    // TODO: port to use OpenMP backend instead of pthread
+#ifdef HAVE_PTHREAD
+		int32_t num_threads=parallel->get_num_threads();
+#else
+		int32_t num_threads=1;
+#endif
 		if (num_threads < 2)
 		{
 			Q_THREAD_PARAM params;
@@ -281,9 +286,9 @@ class LibSVMKernel: public QMatrix {
 			params.q=this;
 			compute_Q_parallel_helper((void*) &params);
 		}
+#ifdef HAVE_PTHREAD
 		else
 		{
-#ifdef HAVE_PTHREAD
 			int32_t total_num=(len-start);
 			pthread_t* threads = SG_MALLOC(pthread_t, num_threads-1);
 			Q_THREAD_PARAM* params = SG_MALLOC(Q_THREAD_PARAM, num_threads);
@@ -329,8 +334,8 @@ class LibSVMKernel: public QMatrix {
 
 			SG_FREE(params);
 			SG_FREE(threads);
-#endif /* HAVE_PTHREAD */
 		}
+#endif /* HAVE_PTHREAD */
 	}
 
 	inline float64_t kernel_function(int32_t i, int32_t j) const
diff --git a/src/shogun/machine/DistanceMachine.cpp b/src/shogun/machine/DistanceMachine.cpp
index 6a8130bc5dc..b342d45f5a5 100644
--- a/src/shogun/machine/DistanceMachine.cpp
+++ b/src/shogun/machine/DistanceMachine.cpp
@@ -51,7 +51,12 @@ void CDistanceMachine::init()
 
 void CDistanceMachine::distances_lhs(float64_t* result,int32_t idx_a1,int32_t idx_a2,int32_t idx_b)
 {
+    // TODO: port to use OpenMP backend instead of pthread
+#ifdef HAVE_PTHREAD
     int32_t num_threads=parallel->get_num_threads();
+#else
+    int32_t num_threads=1;
+#endif
     ASSERT(num_threads>0)
 
     ASSERT(result)
@@ -113,7 +118,12 @@ void CDistanceMachine::distances_lhs(float64_t* result,int32_t idx_a1,int32_t id
 
 void CDistanceMachine::distances_rhs(float64_t* result,int32_t idx_b1,int32_t idx_b2,int32_t idx_a)
 {
+    // TODO: port to use OpenMP backend instead of pthread
+#ifdef HAVE_PTHREAD
     int32_t num_threads=parallel->get_num_threads();
+#else
+    int32_t num_threads=1;
+#endif
     ASSERT(num_threads>0)
 
     ASSERT(result)
@@ -130,7 +140,7 @@ void CDistanceMachine::distances_rhs(float64_t* result,int32_t idx_b1,int32_t id
 
         run_distance_thread_rhs((void*) &param);
     }
-#ifndef WIN32
+#ifdef HAVE_PTHREAD
     else
     {
         pthread_t* threads = SG_MALLOC(pthread_t, num_threads-1);
diff --git a/src/shogun/machine/KernelMachine.cpp b/src/shogun/machine/KernelMachine.cpp
index fafd87f7128..06335587a5e 100644
--- a/src/shogun/machine/KernelMachine.cpp
+++ b/src/shogun/machine/KernelMachine.cpp
@@ -333,7 +333,12 @@ SGVector<float64_t> CKernelMachine::apply_get_outputs(CFeatures* data)
 		}
 		else
 		{
+			// TODO: port to use OpenMP backend instead of pthread
+#ifdef HAVE_PTHREAD
 			int32_t num_threads=parallel->get_num_threads();
+#else
+			int32_t num_threads=1;
+#endif
 			ASSERT(num_threads>0)
 
 			if (num_threads < 2)
@@ -548,7 +553,12 @@ SGVector<float64_t> CKernelMachine::apply_locked_get_output(
 		io->disable_progress();
 
 	/* custom kernel never has batch evaluation property so dont do this here */
+	// TODO: port to use OpenMP backend instead of pthread
+#ifdef HAVE_PTHREAD
 	int32_t num_threads=parallel->get_num_threads();
+#else
+	int32_t num_threads=1;
+#endif
 	ASSERT(num_threads>0)
 
 	if (num_threads<2)
diff --git a/src/shogun/regression/svr/SVRLight.cpp b/src/shogun/regression/svr/SVRLight.cpp
index 963b72a134f..b4c545faa1b 100644
--- a/src/shogun/regression/svr/SVRLight.cpp
+++ b/src/shogun/regression/svr/SVRLight.cpp
@@ -428,7 +428,13 @@ void CSVRLight::update_linear_component(
 
 			if (num_working>0)
 			{
-				if (parallel->get_num_threads() < 2)
+			// TODO: port to use OpenMP backend instead of pthread
+#ifdef HAVE_PTHREAD
+				int32_t num_threads=parallel->get_num_threads();
+#else
+				int32_t num_threads=1;
+#endif
+				if (num_threads < 2)
 				{
 					for(jj=0;(j=active2dnum[jj])>=0;jj++) {
 						lin[j]+=kernel->compute_optimized(regression_fix_index(docs[j]));
@@ -440,13 +446,13 @@ void CSVRLight::update_linear_component(
 					int32_t num_elem = 0 ;
 					for(jj=0;(j=active2dnum[jj])>=0;jj++) num_elem++ ;
 
-					pthread_t* threads = SG_MALLOC(pthread_t, parallel->get_num_threads()-1);
-					S_THREAD_PARAM_SVRLIGHT* params = SG_MALLOC(S_THREAD_PARAM_SVRLIGHT, parallel->get_num_threads()-1);
+					pthread_t* threads = SG_MALLOC(pthread_t, num_threads-1);
+					S_THREAD_PARAM_SVRLIGHT* params = SG_MALLOC(S_THREAD_PARAM_SVRLIGHT, num_threads-1);
 					int32_t start = 0 ;
-					int32_t step = num_elem/parallel->get_num_threads() ;
+					int32_t step = num_elem/num_threads ;
 					int32_t end = step ;
 
-					for (int32_t t=0; t<parallel->get_num_threads()-1; t++)
+					for (int32_t t=0; t<num_threads-1; t++)
 					{
 						params[t].kernel = kernel ;
 						params[t].lin = lin ;
@@ -461,11 +467,11 @@ void CSVRLight::update_linear_component(
 						pthread_create(&threads[t], NULL, update_linear_component_linadd_helper, (void*)&params[t]) ;
 					}
 
-					for(jj=params[parallel->get_num_threads()-2].end;(j=active2dnum[jj])>=0;jj++) {
+					for(jj=params[num_threads-2].end;(j=active2dnum[jj])>=0;jj++) {
 						lin[j]+=kernel->compute_optimized(regression_fix_index(docs[j]));
 					}
 					void* ret;
-					for (int32_t t=0; t<parallel->get_num_threads()-1; t++)
+					for (int32_t t=0; t<num_threads-1; t++)
 						pthread_join(threads[t], &ret) ;
 
 					SG_FREE(params);