diff --git a/system/common.nix b/system/common.nix
index 064ead3..eb283ed 100644
--- a/system/common.nix
+++ b/system/common.nix
@@ -277,8 +277,8 @@
       lib.filter (m: m != "aes_generic") options.boot.initrd.luks.cryptoModules.default
     );
 
-    # don't pull legacy ATA modules into initrd (ATA_SFF=n)
-    initrd.includeDefaultModules = false;
+    # some default initrd modules (ata_piix etc) don't exist with ATA_SFF=n
+    initrd.allowMissingModules = true;
 
     lanzaboote = {
       enable = true;