diff --git a/sys/i386/i386/machdep.c b/sys/i386/i386/machdep.c
index d7324f977e4b..c46dc81ea6a5 100644
--- a/sys/i386/i386/machdep.c
+++ b/sys/i386/i386/machdep.c
@@ -2005,13 +2005,15 @@ getmemsize(int first)
 		Maxmem = atop(physmap[physmap_idx + 1]);
 
 	/*
-	 * By default enable the memory test on real hardware, and disable
-	 * it if we appear to be running in a VM.  This avoids touching all
-	 * pages unnecessarily, which doesn't matter on real hardware but is
-	 * bad for shared VM hosts.  Use a general name so that
-	 * one could eventually do more with the code than just disable it.
+	 * The boot memory test is disabled by default, as it takes a
+	 * significant amount of time on large-memory systems, and is
+	 * unfriendly to virtual machines as it unnecessarily touches all
+	 * pages.
+	 *
+	 * A general name is used as the code may be extended to support
+	 * additional tests beyond the current "page present" test.
 	 */
-	memtest = (vm_guest > VM_GUEST_NO) ? 0 : 1;
+	memtest = 0;
 	TUNABLE_ULONG_FETCH("hw.memtest.tests", &memtest);
 
 	if (atop(physmap[physmap_idx + 1]) != Maxmem &&