diff --git a/hw/block/hd-geometry.c b/hw/block/hd-geometry.c
index 112094358ee5f8ad1485608440e353c9e3821cce..dae13ab14d7c16284660444393bbb36d14400ec6 100644
--- a/hw/block/hd-geometry.c
+++ b/hw/block/hd-geometry.c
@@ -150,7 +150,12 @@ void hd_geometry_guess(BlockBackend *blk,
         translation = BIOS_ATA_TRANSLATION_NONE;
     }
     if (ptrans) {
-        *ptrans = translation;
+        if (*ptrans == BIOS_ATA_TRANSLATION_AUTO) {
+            *ptrans = translation;
+        } else {
+            /* Defer to the translation specified by the user.  */
+            translation = *ptrans;
+        }
     }
     trace_hd_geometry_guess(blk, *pcyls, *pheads, *psecs, translation);
 }