diff --git a/modules/services/network-filesystems/samba.nix b/modules/services/network-filesystems/samba.nix
index e42316bf8bf8..7ad597a9fa28 100644
--- a/modules/services/network-filesystems/samba.nix
+++ b/modules/services/network-filesystems/samba.nix
@@ -16,8 +16,6 @@ let
 
   setupScript =
     ''
-      mkdir -p /var/lock
-
       if ! test -d /home/smbd ; then
         mkdir -p /home/smbd
         chown ${user} /home/smbd
diff --git a/modules/system/boot/stage-2-init.sh b/modules/system/boot/stage-2-init.sh
index b00baf8a0758..a9c54ec67a88 100644
--- a/modules/system/boot/stage-2-init.sh
+++ b/modules/system/boot/stage-2-init.sh
@@ -98,9 +98,7 @@ mkdir -m 0755 -p /etc/nixos
 
 
 # Miscellaneous boot time cleanup.
-rm -rf /var/run
-rm -rf /var/lock
-rm -rf /var/log/upstart
+rm -rf /run /var/run /var/lock /var/log/upstart
 
 #echo -n "cleaning \`/tmp'..."
 #rm -rf --one-file-system /tmp/*
@@ -123,14 +121,17 @@ rm -rf /nix/var/nix/chroots # recreated in activate-configuration.sh
 rm -rf /nix/var/nix/gcroots/tmp /nix/var/nix/temproots
 
 
-# Use a tmpfs for /var/run to ensure that / or /var can be unmounted
-# or at least remounted read-only during shutdown.  (Upstart 0.6
-# apparently uses nscd to do some name lookups, resulting in it
-# holding some mmap mapping to deleted files in /var/run/nscd.
-# Similarly, portmap and statd have open files in /var/run and are
-# needed during shutdown to unmount NFS volumes.)
-mkdir -m 0755 -p /var/run
-mount -t tmpfs -o "mode=755" none /var/run
+# Create a tmpfs on /run to hold runtime state for programs such as
+# udev.  
+mkdir -m 0755 -p /run
+mount -t tmpfs -o "mode=755" none /run
+mkdir -m 0700 -p /run/lock
+
+
+# For backwards compatibility, symlink /var/run to /run, and /var/lock
+# to /run/lock.
+ln -s /run /var/run
+ln -s /run/lock /var/lock
 
 
 # Clear the resume device.
diff --git a/modules/system/upstart-events/shutdown.nix b/modules/system/upstart-events/shutdown.nix
index 85ad601914d8..cc89a97e88de 100644
--- a/modules/system/upstart-events/shutdown.nix
+++ b/modules/system/upstart-events/shutdown.nix
@@ -94,7 +94,7 @@ with pkgs.lib;
                   # Skip various special filesystems.  Non-existent
                   # mount points are typically tmpfs/aufs mounts from
                   # the initrd.
-                  if [ "$mp" = /proc -o "$mp" = /sys -o "$mp" = /dev -o "$device" = "rootfs" -o "$mp" = /var/run -o ! -e "$mp" ]; then continue; fi
+                  if [ "$mp" = /proc -o "$mp" = /sys -o "$mp" = /dev -o "$device" = "rootfs" -o "$mp" = /run -o "$mp" = /var/run -o "$mp" = /var/lock -o ! -e "$mp" ]; then continue; fi
               
                   echo "unmounting $mp..."