diff --git a/init/init.c b/init/init.c
index 79a748454..e48dc50cc 100644
--- a/init/init.c
+++ b/init/init.c
@@ -963,7 +963,14 @@ extern int init_main(int argc, char **argv)
 
 
 	if (argc > 1 && !strcmp(argv[1], "-q")) {
-		kill(1, SIGHUP);
+		/* don't assume init's pid == 1 */
+		long *pid = find_pid_by_name("init");
+		if (!pid || *pid<=0) {
+			pid = find_pid_by_name("linuxrc");
+			if (!pid || *pid<=0)
+				error_msg_and_die("no process killed");
+		}
+		kill(*pid, SIGHUP);
 		exit(0);
 	}