diff --git a/instruction.go b/instruction.go
index 9fffb15..3c815fe 100644
--- a/instruction.go
+++ b/instruction.go
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 package main
 
 import (
+	"errors"
 	"fmt"
 	"os"
 	"path/filepath"
@@ -316,6 +317,10 @@ func preprocessInstructions(instructions []LinkInstruction, filename, workdir st
 			// This is a from reference - load the referenced file
 			fromInstructions, err := loadFromReference(instr.Source, filename, workdir, visited)
 			if err != nil {
+				if errors.Is(err, os.ErrNotExist) {
+					LogError("Referenced file not found: %s (from %s), skipping", instr.Source, filename)
+					continue
+				}
 				return nil, fmt.Errorf("error loading from reference %s: %w", instr.Source, err)
 			}
 			result = append(result, fromInstructions...)
@@ -445,6 +450,8 @@ func ExpandPattern(source, workdir, target string) (links []LinkInstruction, err
 	if err != nil {
 		return nil, fmt.Errorf("error converting home directory in source %s: %w", source, err)
 	}
+	// Normalize path to convert backslashes to forward slashes before pattern processing
+	source = NormalizePath(source, workdir)
 	static, pattern := doublestar.SplitPattern(source)
 	if static == "" || static == "." {
 		static = workdir