diff --git a/nixos/modules/virtualisation/container-config.nix b/nixos/modules/virtualisation/container-config.nix
index 697c53ce7a2..da80e44f2c3 100644
--- a/nixos/modules/virtualisation/container-config.nix
+++ b/nixos/modules/virtualisation/container-config.nix
@@ -99,6 +99,7 @@ with lib;
           '';
         serviceConfig.Type = "oneshot";
         serviceConfig.RemainAfterExit = true;
+        restartIfChanged = false;
       };
 
   };
diff --git a/nixos/modules/virtualisation/containers.nix b/nixos/modules/virtualisation/containers.nix
index 51402f3e32d..72462a8dfd8 100644
--- a/nixos/modules/virtualisation/containers.nix
+++ b/nixos/modules/virtualisation/containers.nix
@@ -225,6 +225,7 @@ in
             # writes something to this pipe.  FIXME: it also hangs
             # until the start timeout expires if systemd-nspawn exits.
             read x < $root/var/lib/startup-done
+            rm -f $root/var/lib/startup-done
           '';
 
         preStop =