diff --git a/gems/run/d3m_boot.run b/gems/run/d3m_boot.run
index 61e3e9578..4e762d500 100644
--- a/gems/run/d3m_boot.run
+++ b/gems/run/d3m_boot.run
@@ -106,7 +106,7 @@ proc spawn_qemu { wait_for_re timeout_value } {
 	global qemu_args
 	global qemu
 	global spawn_id
-	set qemu "qemu"
+	set qemu "qemu-system-i386"
 
 	set timeout $timeout_value
 	set pid [eval "spawn $qemu $qemu_args"]
diff --git a/tool/run b/tool/run
index 456d7da16..90b6606f4 100755
--- a/tool/run
+++ b/tool/run
@@ -414,9 +414,8 @@ proc spawn_qemu { wait_for_re timeout_value } {
 	global qemu_args
 	global qemu
 	global spawn_id
-	set qemu "qemu"
 
-	# use special qemu versions for non x86_32 architectures
+	if {[have_spec x86_32]} { set qemu "qemu-system-i386" }
 	if {[have_spec x86_64]} { set qemu "qemu-system-x86_64" }
 	if {[have_spec arm]}    { set qemu "qemu-system-arm" }