diff --git a/include/qapi/qmp/qerror.h b/include/qapi/qmp/qerror.h
index e094f13114..840831cc6a 100644
--- a/include/qapi/qmp/qerror.h
+++ b/include/qapi/qmp/qerror.h
@@ -17,9 +17,6 @@
  * add new ones!
  */
 
-#define QERR_QGA_COMMAND_FAILED \
-    "Guest agent command failed, error was '%s'"
-
 #define QERR_UNSUPPORTED \
     "this feature or command is not currently supported"
 
diff --git a/qga/commands-win32.c b/qga/commands-win32.c
index 946dbafbb6..aa8c9770d4 100644
--- a/qga/commands-win32.c
+++ b/qga/commands-win32.c
@@ -245,7 +245,8 @@ int64_t qmp_guest_file_open(const char *path, const char *mode, Error **errp)
 
 done:
     if (gerr) {
-        error_setg(errp, QERR_QGA_COMMAND_FAILED, gerr->message);
+        error_setg(errp,
+                   "Guest agent command failed, error was 'err -> messag'");
         g_error_free(gerr);
     }
     g_free(w_path);
@@ -279,8 +280,8 @@ static void acquire_privilege(const char *name, Error **errp)
         TOKEN_ADJUST_PRIVILEGES | TOKEN_QUERY, &token))
     {
         if (!LookupPrivilegeValue(NULL, name, &priv.Privileges[0].Luid)) {
-            error_setg(errp, QERR_QGA_COMMAND_FAILED,
-                       "no luid for requested privilege");
+            error_setg(errp,
+                       "Guest agent command failed, error was 'no luid for requested privilege'");
             goto out;
         }
 
@@ -288,14 +289,14 @@ static void acquire_privilege(const char *name, Error **errp)
         priv.Privileges[0].Attributes = SE_PRIVILEGE_ENABLED;
 
         if (!AdjustTokenPrivileges(token, FALSE, &priv, 0, NULL, 0)) {
-            error_setg(errp, QERR_QGA_COMMAND_FAILED,
-                       "unable to acquire requested privilege");
+            error_setg(errp,
+                       "Guest agent command failed, error was 'unable to acquire requested privilege'");
             goto out;
         }
 
     } else {
-        error_setg(errp, QERR_QGA_COMMAND_FAILED,
-                   "failed to open privilege token");
+        error_setg(errp,
+                   "Guest agent command failed, error was 'failed to open privilege token'");
     }
 
 out:
@@ -309,8 +310,8 @@ static void execute_async(DWORD WINAPI (*func)(LPVOID), LPVOID opaque,
 {
     HANDLE thread = CreateThread(NULL, 0, func, opaque, 0, NULL);
     if (!thread) {
-        error_setg(errp, QERR_QGA_COMMAND_FAILED,
-                   "failed to dispatch asynchronous command");
+        error_setg(errp,
+                   "Guest agent command failed, error was 'failed to dispatch asynchronous command'");
     }
 }
 
@@ -1423,22 +1424,22 @@ static void check_suspend_mode(GuestSuspendMode mode, Error **errp)
 
     ZeroMemory(&sys_pwr_caps, sizeof(sys_pwr_caps));
     if (!GetPwrCapabilities(&sys_pwr_caps)) {
-        error_setg(errp, QERR_QGA_COMMAND_FAILED,
-                   "failed to determine guest suspend capabilities");
+        error_setg(errp,
+                   "Guest agent command failed, error was 'failed to determine guest suspend capabilities'");
         return;
     }
 
     switch (mode) {
     case GUEST_SUSPEND_MODE_DISK:
         if (!sys_pwr_caps.SystemS4) {
-            error_setg(errp, QERR_QGA_COMMAND_FAILED,
-                       "suspend-to-disk not supported by OS");
+            error_setg(errp,
+                       "Guest agent command failed, error was 'suspend-to-disk not supported by OS'");
         }
         break;
     case GUEST_SUSPEND_MODE_RAM:
         if (!sys_pwr_caps.SystemS3) {
-            error_setg(errp, QERR_QGA_COMMAND_FAILED,
-                       "suspend-to-ram not supported by OS");
+            error_setg(errp,
+                       "Guest agent command failed, error was 'suspend-to-ram not supported by OS'");
         }
         break;
     default:
@@ -1971,7 +1972,8 @@ void qmp_guest_set_user_password(const char *username,
 
 done:
     if (gerr) {
-        error_setg(errp, QERR_QGA_COMMAND_FAILED, gerr->message);
+        error_setg(errp,
+                   "Guest agent command failed, error was 'err -> messag'");
         g_error_free(gerr);
     }
     g_free(user);
@@ -2180,8 +2182,8 @@ static void ga_get_win_version(RTL_OSVERSIONINFOEXW *info, Error **errp)
     HMODULE module = GetModuleHandle("ntdll");
     PVOID fun = GetProcAddress(module, "RtlGetVersion");
     if (fun == NULL) {
-        error_setg(errp, QERR_QGA_COMMAND_FAILED,
-            "Failed to get address of RtlGetVersion");
+        error_setg(errp,
+                   "Guest agent command failed, error was 'Failed to get address of RtlGetVersion'");
         return;
     }
 
diff --git a/qga/commands.c b/qga/commands.c
index 871210ab0b..936634c50a 100644
--- a/qga/commands.c
+++ b/qga/commands.c
@@ -475,7 +475,8 @@ GuestExec *qmp_guest_exec(const char *path,
             guest_exec_task_setup, &has_merge, &pid, input_data ? &in_fd : NULL,
             has_output ? &out_fd : NULL, has_output ? &err_fd : NULL, &gerr);
     if (!ret) {
-        error_setg(errp, QERR_QGA_COMMAND_FAILED, gerr->message);
+        error_setg(errp,
+                   "Guest agent command failed, error was 'err -> messag'");
         g_error_free(gerr);
         goto done;
     }
@@ -586,8 +587,8 @@ GuestTimezone *qmp_guest_get_timezone(Error **errp)
     info = g_new0(GuestTimezone, 1);
     tz = g_time_zone_new_local();
     if (tz == NULL) {
-        error_setg(errp, QERR_QGA_COMMAND_FAILED,
-                   "Couldn't retrieve local timezone");
+        error_setg(errp,
+                   "Guest agent command failed, error was 'Couldn't retrieve local timezone'");
         goto error;
     }
 
