diff --git a/profiles/ch-runner.nix b/profiles/ch-runner.nix
index cd481fa..1b46f22 100644
--- a/profiles/ch-runner.nix
+++ b/profiles/ch-runner.nix
@@ -415,11 +415,11 @@ in
                             args,
                             **kwargs,
                         )
+                        if not alive_after(proc, 0.125):
+                            raise RuntimeError("Failed to start", args)
                         yield proc
                     finally:
-                        try:
-                            proc.wait(0.125)
-                        except subprocess.TimeoutExpired:
+                        if alive_after(proc, 0.125):
                             proc.terminate()
                         proc.wait()
 
@@ -636,18 +636,12 @@ in
 
                             # "pass_fds": (2, s.fileno()),
                         }
-                        with self.popen(*args, **kwargs) as p:
-                            try:
-                                assert alive_after(p, 0.125)
-                                if p.returncode is not None:
-                                    raise RuntimeError("virtiofsd exited too early")
+                        try:
+                            with self.popen(*args, **kwargs) as p:
                                 yield p, sock_path
-                            finally:
-                                if p.returncode is None:
-                                    p.kill()
-                                    p.wait()
-                                if os.path.exists(sock_path):
-                                    os.remove(sock_path)
+                        finally:
+                            if os.path.exists(sock_path):
+                                os.remove(sock_path)
 
 
             @contextmanager