diff --git a/tools/xenpaging/policy_default.c b/tools/xenpaging/policy_default.c
index 83fe830309..0d32c94859 100644
--- a/tools/xenpaging/policy_default.c
+++ b/tools/xenpaging/policy_default.c
@@ -69,6 +69,10 @@ int policy_init(xenpaging_t *paging)
     /* Don't page out page 0 */
     set_bit(0, bitmap);
 
+    /* Start in the middle to avoid paging during BIOS startup */
+    current_gfn = max_pages / 2;
+    current_gfn -= paging->num_pages / 2;
+
     rc = 0;
  out:
     return rc;