diff --git a/assisted_startup.sh b/assisted_startup.sh
index 2b83814675fd1d1e692b6b5bca83c0da6f23ce83..4220c31a1295c67763048e773d04cd2fca8fc4cf 100755
--- a/assisted_startup.sh
+++ b/assisted_startup.sh
@@ -440,7 +440,10 @@ else
     fi
 
     # Create a snapshot of the ZFS pool
-    ./snapshot_zfs_datasets.sh $SNAPSHOT_NAME
+    # (specify --force to prevent snapshot_zfs_datasets from erroring out
+    # if the blockchain and shared_memory write times are too far apart,
+    # something that can easily happen when copying the shared memory file)
+    ./snapshot_zfs_datasets.sh --force $SNAPSHOT_NAME
 
     # Restart Docker Compose
     docker compose up -d