diff --git a/nixos/tests/virtualbox.nix b/nixos/tests/virtualbox.nix
index 98125aec0328..de23625abbcb 100644
--- a/nixos/tests/virtualbox.nix
+++ b/nixos/tests/virtualbox.nix
@@ -162,7 +162,7 @@ let
           cp "${cfg.system.build.kernel}/bzImage" /mnt/linux
           cp "${cfg.system.build.initialRamdisk}/initrd" /mnt/initrd
 
-          ${pkgs.grub2}/bin/grub-install --boot-directory=/mnt /dev/vda
+          ${pkgs.grub2}/bin/grub-install --target=i386-pc --boot-directory=/mnt /dev/vda
 
           cat > /mnt/grub/grub.cfg <<GRUB
           set root=hd0,1