diff --git a/upstart-jobs/tty-backgrounds.nix b/upstart-jobs/tty-backgrounds.nix
index 3956d9fb8b49..6debe9e8f44e 100644
--- a/upstart-jobs/tty-backgrounds.nix
+++ b/upstart-jobs/tty-backgrounds.nix
@@ -15,14 +15,17 @@ rec {
     themes = map (x: if x ? theme then (unpackTheme x.theme) else "default") backgrounds;
   };
 
+  extraEtc = [
+    { source = themesUnpacked;
+      target = "splash";
+    }
+  ];
+
   job = "
 start on hardware-scan
 
 start script
 
-    rm -f /etc/splash
-    ln -s ${themesUnpacked} /etc/splash
-
     # Critical: tell the kernel where to find splash_helper.  It calls
     # this program every time we switch between consoles.
     echo ${splashutils}/bin/splash_helper > /proc/sys/kernel/fbsplash