diff --git a/meta/classes/archiver.bbclass b/meta/classes/archiver.bbclass
index c19c770d11..5514e44a78 100644
--- a/meta/classes/archiver.bbclass
+++ b/meta/classes/archiver.bbclass
@@ -486,6 +486,8 @@ python do_unpack_and_patch() {
     if d.getVarFlag('ARCHIVER_MODE', 'diff') == '1':
         src = d.getVar('S').rstrip('/')
         src_orig = '%s.orig' % src
+        if os.path.isdir(src_orig):
+            bb.error("A previous copy of the original source already exist '%s'" % src_orig)
         oe.path.copytree(src, src_orig)
 
     if bb.data.inherits_class('dos2unix', d):