diff --git a/src/_h5ai/php/api.php b/src/_h5ai/php/api.php
index db4fb3b8..9b3d50ef 100644
--- a/src/_h5ai/php/api.php
+++ b/src/_h5ai/php/api.php
@@ -146,9 +146,9 @@ else if ($action === "getzip") {
 else if ($action === "checks") {
 
 	$response = array(
-		'php' => true,
-		'zips' => class_exists("ZipArchive"),
-		'thumbs' => GD_VERSION != "GD_VERSION"
+		'php' => $h5ai->checks["php"],
+		'zips' => $h5ai->checks["php"] && $h5ai->checks["zip"],
+		'thumbs' => $h5ai->checks["php"] && $h5ai->checks["gd"]
 	);
 	echo json_encode($response);
 }
diff --git a/src/_h5ai/php/inc/H5ai.php b/src/_h5ai/php/inc/H5ai.php
index bf8251a0..24196a0a 100644
--- a/src/_h5ai/php/inc/H5ai.php
+++ b/src/_h5ai/php/inc/H5ai.php
@@ -18,6 +18,12 @@ class H5ai {
 
 	public function __construct() {
 
+		$this->checks = array(
+			"php" => version_compare(PHP_VERSION, "5.2.0") >= 0,
+			"zip" => class_exists("ZipArchive"),
+			"gd" => GD_VERSION != "GD_VERSION"
+		);
+
 		$this->h5aiAbsPath = H5AI_ABS_PATH;
 
 		global $H5AI_CONFIG;