Index: wp-includes/wp-db.php
===================================================================
--- wp-includes/wp-db.php	(revision 17536)
+++ wp-includes/wp-db.php	(working copy)
@@ -1049,13 +1049,6 @@
 </ul>
 <p>If you're unsure what these terms mean you should probably contact your host. If you still need help you can always visit the <a href='http://wordpress.org/support/'>WordPress Support Forums</a>.</p>
 "/*/WP_I18N_DB_CONN_ERROR*/, $this->dbhost ), 'db_connect_fail' );
-
-			// If show errors is disabled then we need to die anyway as we don't have a working DB connection
-			// unless we're trying to test the initial connection, in which case setup-config.php/install.php will handle.
-			if ( defined( 'WP_SETUP_CONFIG' ) || defined( 'WP_INSTALLING' ) )
-				return;
-
-			die();
 		}
 
 		$this->set_charset( $this->dbh );