diff --git a/.github/actions/setup-randblas-deps-windows/setup.ps1 b/.github/actions/setup-randblas-deps-windows/setup.ps1
index d8027d1e..faf99852 100644
--- a/.github/actions/setup-randblas-deps-windows/setup.ps1
+++ b/.github/actions/setup-randblas-deps-windows/setup.ps1
@@ -89,9 +89,13 @@ function Clone-Pinned {
 # portability fixes (blaspp#132, lapackpp#87). The latest release of each,
 # v2025.05.28, predates all of these.
 $BlasppUrl    = "https://github.com/icl-utk-edu/blaspp.git"
-$BlasppRef    = "2d8d4e937ac46fffab33d4174a4fc7659726dbda"
+# TEMPORARY PIN -- head of icl-utk-edu/blaspp#137; replace with the merge
+# commit the moment it lands.
+$BlasppRef    = "c3ef942a0b9c86dc6c66952b58b7151f938747ca"
 $LapackppUrl  = "https://github.com/icl-utk-edu/lapackpp.git"
-$LapackppRef  = "b9439cf3c26d1655d88e7f510ae8b4f82fbeb687"
+# TEMPORARY PIN -- head of icl-utk-edu/lapackpp#90; replace with the merge
+# commit the moment it lands.
+$LapackppRef  = "f891adcb8e06afa7744ac046d96d1282bbe5388a"
 $Random123Url = "https://github.com/DEShawResearch/Random123.git"
 $Random123Ref = "v1.14.0"
 $GTestUrl     = "https://github.com/google/googletest.git"
@@ -217,6 +221,20 @@ foreach ($path in @($mklInclude, $mklBin) + $mklLibraries) {
 $env:MKLROOT = $mklRoot
 $env:PATH = "$mklBin;$env:PATH"
 
+# Deliberately hand BLAS++ the import libraries from a path WITH a space,
+# emulating Intel's default install location (C:\Program Files (x86)\...).
+# This is the standing regression proof for icl-utk-edu/blaspp#137 (issue
+# #188): the pinned BLAS++ must not split BLAS_LIBRARIES entries on spaces.
+# Import libraries only name their DLL, which still loads from $mklBin at
+# run time, so relocating them is safe.
+$spacedLibDir = Join-Path $DependencyRoot "path with spaces"
+New-Item -ItemType Directory -Force -Path $spacedLibDir | Out-Null
+$mklLibraries = @($mklLibraries | ForEach-Object {
+    $target = Join-Path $spacedLibDir (Split-Path $_ -Leaf)
+    Copy-Item -LiteralPath $_ -Destination $target -Force
+    $target
+})
+
 $gtestSource = Join-Path $DependencyRoot "googletest"
 $gtestVariant = if ($SanitizeAddress) { "googletest-asan" } else { "googletest" }
 $gtestBuild = Join-Path $DependencyRoot "$gtestVariant-build"
diff --git a/installers/install.sh b/installers/install.sh
index dc47c426..49f0707b 100755
--- a/installers/install.sh
+++ b/installers/install.sh
@@ -442,12 +442,17 @@ BLASPP_URL="https://github.com/icl-utk-edu/blaspp.git"
 # 2026-08-27); also contains the MSVC portability fix (PR #132). Not in a
 # release yet -- the latest tag, v2025.05.28, predates both. Move to a tag
 # once one includes them.
-BLASPP_REF="2d8d4e937ac46fffab33d4174a4fc7659726dbda"
+# TEMPORARY PIN -- the head of icl-utk-edu/blaspp#137 (space-split fix),
+# fetchable from upstream via its pull ref. Replace with the merge commit
+# the moment #137 lands; the PR carrying this stays a draft until then.
+BLASPP_REF="c3ef942a0b9c86dc6c66952b58b7151f938747ca"
 
 LAPACKPP_URL="https://github.com/icl-utk-edu/lapackpp.git"
 # The commit that merged the LAPACK++ half of new-Accelerate support
 # (lapackpp PR #88, 2026-08-27).
-LAPACKPP_REF="b9439cf3c26d1655d88e7f510ae8b4f82fbeb687"
+# TEMPORARY PIN -- the head of icl-utk-edu/lapackpp#90 (Accelerate-ILP64
+# aliasing fix). Replace with the merge commit when #90 lands.
+LAPACKPP_REF="f891adcb8e06afa7744ac046d96d1282bbe5388a"
 
 RANDOM123_URL="https://github.com/DEShawResearch/Random123.git"
 RANDOM123_REF="v1.14.0"
@@ -988,8 +993,11 @@ build_examples() {
 # command silently builds something different from what was just installed --
 # and for --blas=custom it would not run at all.
 #
-# Written as if-blocks rather than "[[ test ]] && append": under set -e a
-# false test at the end of a list exits the script.
+# if-blocks rather than "[[ test ]] && append" for readability. Note the
+# set -e hazard with that construct is narrower than it looks: a top-level
+# "[[ test ]] && cmd" with a false test does NOT exit (the failing command is
+# exempt as part of a && list); it only bites as the last statement of a
+# function, where the test's failure becomes the function's return status.
 EXAMPLES_COMMAND="bash $SCRIPT_DIR/install.sh --examples --blas=$BLAS_BACKEND --project-dir=$PROJECT_DIR"
 if [[ -n "$PREFIX_OVERRIDE" ]]; then
     EXAMPLES_COMMAND+=" --prefix=$PREFIX_OVERRIDE"