diff --git a/nixos/tests/installer.nix b/nixos/tests/installer.nix
index b2e1abc26eec..33db2df019e5 100644
--- a/nixos/tests/installer.nix
+++ b/nixos/tests/installer.nix
@@ -370,6 +370,10 @@ in {
               "mdadm -W /dev/md1",
           );
         '';
+      preBootCommands = ''
+        $machine->start;
+        $machine->fail("dmesg | grep 'immediate safe mode'");
+      '';
     };
 
   # Test a basic install using GRUB 1.