diff --git a/hf_xet/Cargo.lock b/hf_xet/Cargo.lock
index 7089f4ff..ccf2a954 100644
--- a/hf_xet/Cargo.lock
+++ b/hf_xet/Cargo.lock
@@ -753,16 +753,6 @@ version = "0.0.6"
 source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
 checksum = "e2931af7e13dc045d8e9d26afccc6fa115d64e115c9c84b1166288b46f6782c2"
 
-[[package]]
-name = "ctrlc"
-version = "3.4.7"
-source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
-checksum = "46f93780a459b7d656ef7f071fe699c4d3d2cb201c4b24d085b6ddc505276e73"
-dependencies = [
- "nix 0.30.1",
- "windows-sys 0.59.0",
-]
-
 [[package]]
 name = "data"
 version = "0.14.5"
@@ -1410,7 +1400,6 @@ dependencies = [
  "bipbuffer",
  "cas_client",
  "chrono",
- "ctrlc",
  "data",
  "error_printer",
  "itertools 0.14.0",
@@ -1422,8 +1411,10 @@ dependencies = [
  "serde",
  "serde_json",
  "signal-hook",
+ "signal-hook-registry",
  "tracing",
  "utils",
+ "winapi",
  "xet_config",
  "xet_logging",
  "xet_runtime",
@@ -2269,18 +2260,6 @@ dependencies = [
  "libc",
 ]
 
-[[package]]
-name = "nix"
-version = "0.30.1"
-source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
-checksum = "74523f3a35e05aba87a1d978330aef40f67b0304ac79c1c00b294c9830543db6"
-dependencies = [
- "bitflags 2.9.2",
- "cfg-if 1.0.1",
- "cfg_aliases",
- "libc",
-]
-
 [[package]]
 name = "nom"
 version = "7.1.3"
@@ -2638,7 +2617,7 @@ dependencies = [
  "inferno",
  "libc",
  "log",
- "nix 0.26.4",
+ "nix",
  "once_cell",
  "prost 0.12.6",
  "protobuf 2.28.0",
diff --git a/hf_xet/Cargo.toml b/hf_xet/Cargo.toml
index dd8b5a45..e0b7b240 100644
--- a/hf_xet/Cargo.toml
+++ b/hf_xet/Cargo.toml
@@ -42,10 +42,11 @@ tracing = "0.1"
 # Unix-specific dependencies
 [target.'cfg(unix)'.dependencies]
 signal-hook = "0.3"
+signal-hook-registry = "1.4"
 
 # Windows-specific dependencies
 [target.'cfg(windows)'.dependencies]
-ctrlc = "3.4"
+winapi = { version = "0.3", features = ["consoleapi", "wincon", "errhandlingapi"] }
 
 [features]
 default = ["no-default-cache"]                           # By default, hf_xet disables the disk cache. 
diff --git a/hf_xet/src/runtime.rs b/hf_xet/src/runtime.rs
index a47a9bac..4fbe3ec2 100644
--- a/hf_xet/src/runtime.rs
+++ b/hf_xet/src/runtime.rs
@@ -30,17 +30,57 @@ fn install_sigint_handler() -> Result<(), MultithreadedRuntimeError> {
     Ok(())
 }
 
+#[cfg(windows)]
+extern "system" fn console_ctrl_handler(
+    ctrl_type: winapi::shared::minwindef::DWORD,
+) -> winapi::shared::minwindef::BOOL {
+    use winapi::um::wincon;
+
+    // Only handle CTRL_C_EVENT
+    if ctrl_type == wincon::CTRL_C_EVENT {
+        // Check if we have active operations
+        let has_active_ops = {
+            let guard = MULTITHREADED_RUNTIME.read().unwrap();
+            if let Some((runtime_pid, ref runtime)) = *guard {
+                runtime_pid == std::process::id() && runtime.external_executor_count() > 0
+            } else {
+                false
+            }
+        };
+
+        if has_active_ops {
+            // We have active operations, handle it ourselves
+            SIGINT_DETECTED.store(true, Ordering::SeqCst);
+            winapi::shared::minwindef::TRUE
+        } else {
+            // No active operations, let Python's handler (or default) handle it
+            // Return FALSE to continue handler chain
+            winapi::shared::minwindef::FALSE
+        }
+    } else {
+        // For other control events, let default handler process them
+        winapi::shared::minwindef::FALSE
+    }
+}
+
 #[cfg(windows)]
 fn install_sigint_handler() -> Result<(), MultithreadedRuntimeError> {
-    // On Windows, use ctrlc crate.
-    // This sets a callback to run on Ctrl-C:
-    let sigint_detected_flag = SIGINT_DETECTED.clone();
-    ctrlc::set_handler(move || {
-        sigint_detected_flag.store(true, Ordering::SeqCst);
-    })
-    .map_err(|e| {
-        MultithreadedRuntimeError::Other(format!("Initialization Error: Unable to register SIGINT handler {e:?}"))
-    })?;
+    use winapi::um::consoleapi::SetConsoleCtrlHandler;
+    use winapi::um::wincon::CTRL_C_EVENT;
+
+    // Install our handler using Windows API directly (instead of ctrlc)
+    // Our handler checks if operations are active:
+    // - If active: handles Ctrl+C and returns TRUE (stops propagation)
+    // - If not active: returns FALSE (allows Python's handler or default to handle it)
+    // This way we don't need to save/restore Python's handler - we just delegate to it
+    unsafe {
+        if SetConsoleCtrlHandler(Some(console_ctrl_handler), winapi::shared::minwindef::TRUE) == 0 {
+            let error = winapi::um::errhandlingapi::GetLastError();
+            return Err(MultithreadedRuntimeError::Other(format!(
+                "Initialization Error: Unable to register SIGINT handler. Windows error: {error}"
+            )));
+        }
+    }
     Ok(())
 }