diff --git a/site_utils/setup_dev_autotest.sh b/site_utils/setup_dev_autotest.sh
index bda4149..5b5432d 100755
--- a/site_utils/setup_dev_autotest.sh
+++ b/site_utils/setup_dev_autotest.sh
@@ -189,7 +189,7 @@
     PASSWD_STRING="-p"
   fi
 
-  if ! mysqladmin ping ; then
+  if ! mysqladmin -u root "${PASSWD_STRING}" ping ; then
     sudo service mysql start
   fi