diff --git a/tests/hghave b/tests/hghave
--- a/tests/hghave
+++ b/tests/hghave
@@ -161,6 +161,15 @@ def has_p4():
     return matchoutput('p4 -V', r'Rev\. P4/') and matchoutput('p4d -V', r'Rev\. P4D/')
 
 def has_symlink():
+    if not hasattr(os, "symlink"):
+        return False
+    name = tempfile.mktemp(dir=".", prefix='hg-checklink-')
+    try:
+        os.symlink(".", name)
+        os.unlink(name)
+        return True
+    except (OSError, AttributeError):
+        return False
     return hasattr(os, "symlink") # FIXME: should also check file system and os
 
 def has_tla():