diff --git a/xonsh/rc.xsh b/xonsh/rc.xsh
index 7187d68..1921fa5 100644
--- a/xonsh/rc.xsh
+++ b/xonsh/rc.xsh
@@ -84,7 +84,7 @@ if not 'XONSH_HAS_NIXOS' in ${...}:
     $XONSH_HAS_NIXOS = False;
 
 if not $XONSH_HAS_NIXOS:
-    if !(grep -q "DISTRIB_ID=nixos" /etc/lsb-release).returncode == 0:
+    if (p"/etc/lsb_release".exists()) && !(grep -q "DISTRIB_ID=nixos" /etc/lsb-release).returncode == 0:
         if XONSHRC_VERBOSE:
             print("Found a NixOS machine; automatically loading the NixOS extensions.")
         try_source("includes/nixos")