diff --git a/pkgs/os-specific/linux/qemu-kvm/default.nix b/pkgs/os-specific/linux/qemu-kvm/default.nix
index aa92b2f2d0d..c5c7e0b01f0 100644
--- a/pkgs/os-specific/linux/qemu-kvm/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/os-specific/linux/qemu-kvm/default.nix
@@ -13,7 +13,10 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
 
   patches = [ ./smb-tmpdir.patch ./qemu-img-fix-corrupt-vdi.patch ];
 
-  configureFlags = "--audio-drv-list=alsa";
+  configureFlags =
+    [ "--audio-drv-list=alsa"
+      "--smbd=smbd"                               # use `smbd' from $PATH
+    ];
 
   enableParallelBuilding = true;
 
@@ -22,12 +25,6 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
       ncurses python glib
     ];
 
-  preBuild =
-    ''
-      # Don't use a hardcoded path to Samba.
-      substituteInPlace ./net.h --replace /usr/sbin/smbd smbd
-    '';
-
   postInstall =
     ''
       # extboot.bin isn't installed due to a bug in the Makefile.