diff --git a/bin/pt-archiver b/bin/pt-archiver
index 81653b8d..8ad612a1 100755
--- a/bin/pt-archiver
+++ b/bin/pt-archiver
@@ -3955,24 +3955,8 @@ sub main {
          $dp->get_cxn_params($table), { AutoCommit => $ac });
       PTDEBUG && _d('Inspecting table on', $dp->as_string($table));
 
-      if ( $o->get('bulk-insert') ) {
-         local $@;
-         my $sql = "LOAD DATA LOCAL INFILE '/dev/null' INTO TABLE "
-                 . "`test`.`pt_not_there`";
-         eval { $dbh->do($sql); 1 } or do {
-            my $e = $@;
-            my $error_re = qr/\QDBD::mysql::db do failed: The used command is not allowed with this MySQL version [for Statement "LOAD DATA LOCAL INFILE/;
-            if ($e =~ $error_re) {
-               $dbh->disconnect();
-               die("--bulk-insert cannot work as LOAD DATA LOCAL INFILE "
-                 . "is disabled. See http://kb.percona.com/troubleshoot-load-data-infile"
-               );
-            }
-         };
-      }
-      
-      # Set options that can enable removing data on the master and archiving it
-      # on the slaves.
+      # Set options that can enable removing data on the master
+      # and archiving it on the slaves.
       if ( $table->{a} ) {
          $dbh->do("USE $table->{a}");
       }
diff --git a/bin/pt-upgrade b/bin/pt-upgrade
index 5923ad6a..acaaabee 100755
--- a/bin/pt-upgrade
+++ b/bin/pt-upgrade
@@ -10371,32 +10371,6 @@ sub main {
       $host->{name}  = $name || 'unknown host';
    }
 
-   # ########################################################################
-   # If we're comparing rows, check that LOAD DATA LOCAL INFILE works for,
-   # all hosts, or bail out early if it doesn't.
-   # ########################################################################
-   my $compare = $o->get('compare');
-   if ( $compare->{results}
-         && lc($o->get('compare-results-method')) eq 'rows' )
-   {
-      foreach my $host ( @$hosts ) {
-         local $@;
-         my $sql = "LOAD DATA LOCAL INFILE '/dev/null' INTO TABLE "
-                 . "`test`.`pt_not_there`";
-         eval { $host->{dbh}->do($sql); 1 } or do {
-            my $e = $@;
-            my $error_re = qr/\QDBD::mysql::db do failed: The used command is not allowed with this MySQL version [for Statement "LOAD DATA LOCAL INFILE/;
-            if ($e =~ $error_re) {
-               $_->{dbh}->disconnect() for @$hosts;
-               die("Cannot compare rows as LOAD DATA LOCAL INFILE "
-                 . "is disabled for $host->{name}. See "
-                 . "http://kb.percona.com/troubleshoot-load-data-infile"
-               );
-            }
-         };
-      }
-   }
-   
    # ########################################################################
    # Make some common modules.
    # ########################################################################
@@ -10430,6 +10404,7 @@ sub main {
    # ########################################################################
    # Make compare modules in order.
    # ########################################################################
+   my $compare = $o->get('compare');
    my @compare_modules;
    if ( $compare->{results} ) {
       my $method  = lc $o->get('compare-results-method');
diff --git a/lib/PerconaTest.pm b/lib/PerconaTest.pm
index 8221de9b..45092376 100644
--- a/lib/PerconaTest.pm
+++ b/lib/PerconaTest.pm
@@ -68,6 +68,7 @@ our @EXPORT      = qw(
    $trunk
    $dsn_opts
    $sandbox_version
+   $can_load_data
 );
 
 our $trunk = $ENV{PERCONA_TOOLKIT_BRANCH};
@@ -78,6 +79,8 @@ eval {
    $sandbox_version = $v if $v;
 };
 
+our $can_load_data = can_load_data();
+
 our $dsn_opts = [
    {
       key  => 'A',
@@ -777,17 +780,9 @@ sub tables_used {
    return [ sort keys %tables ];
 }
 
-sub load_data_is_disabled {
-    my ($dbh) = @_;
-    my $sql = "LOAD DATA LOCAL INFILE '/dev/null' INTO TABLE "
-            . "`t`.`pt_not_there`";
-    local $@;
-    if (!eval { $dbh->do($sql); 1 } ) {
-        my $e = $@;
-        return 1 if $e =~ qr/\QDBD::mysql::db do failed: The used command is not allowed with this MySQL version [for Statement "LOAD DATA LOCAL INFILE/;
-    }
-
-    return;
+sub can_load_data {
+    my $output = `/tmp/12345/use -e "SELECT * FROM percona_test.load_data" 2>/dev/null`;
+    return ($output || '') =~ /42/;
 }
 
 1;
diff --git a/sandbox/test-env b/sandbox/test-env
index cd1f94e5..cb022e09 100755
--- a/sandbox/test-env
+++ b/sandbox/test-env
@@ -234,6 +234,23 @@ set_mysql_version() {
    fi
 }
 
+check_load_data() {
+   # LOAD DATA is disabled or broken on some boxes.  PerconaTest exports
+   # $can_load_data which is true if percona_test.load_data has the 42 row,
+   # signaling that LOAD DATA LOCAL INFILE worked.
+   /tmp/12345/use -e "CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS percona_test.load_data (i int)"
+   echo 42 > /tmp/load_data_test.$$
+   /tmp/12345/use -e "LOAD DATA LOCAL INFILE '/tmp/load_data_test.$$' INTO TABLE percona_test.load_data"
+   sleep 0.1
+   rm /tmp/load_data_test.$$
+   /tmp/12345/use -e "SELECT * FROM percona_test.load_data" | grep 42 >/dev/null 2>&1
+   if [ $? -eq 0 ]; then
+      echo "LOAD DATA LOCAL INFILE is enabled"
+   else
+      echo "LOAD DATA LOCAL INFILE is disabled"
+   fi
+}
+
 # ###########################################################################
 # Sanity check the cmd line options.
 # ###########################################################################
@@ -290,6 +307,7 @@ case $opt in
                echo "OK"
             fi
             ../util/checksum-test-dataset
+            check_load_data
             ping=$(/tmp/12345/use -ss -e "SELECT MD5(RAND())")
             /tmp/12345/use -e "create table percona_test.sentinel(id int primary key, ping varchar(64) not null default '')"
             /tmp/12345/use -e "insert into percona_test.sentinel(id, ping) values(1, '$ping')";
diff --git a/t/pt-archiver/bulk_insert.t b/t/pt-archiver/bulk_insert.t
index 3b7f1011..4727f7f7 100644
--- a/t/pt-archiver/bulk_insert.t
+++ b/t/pt-archiver/bulk_insert.t
@@ -22,12 +22,8 @@ my $dbh = $sb->get_dbh_for('master');
 if ( !$dbh ) {
    plan skip_all => 'Cannot connect to sandbox master';
 }
-elsif ( PerconaTest::load_data_is_disabled($dbh) ) {
-   diag("LOAD DATA LOCAL INFILE is disabled, only going to test the error message");
-   plan tests => 2;
-}
-else {
-   plan tests => 11;
+elsif ( !$can_load_data ) {
+   plan skip_all => 'LOAD DATA LOCAL INFILE is disabled';
 }
 
 my $output;
@@ -35,11 +31,6 @@ my $rows;
 my $cnf = "/tmp/12345/my.sandbox.cnf";
 my $cmd = "$trunk/bin/pt-archiver";
 
-if ( PerconaTest::load_data_is_disabled($dbh) ) {
-   test_disabled_load_data($dbh, $sb, 'master', $cnf);
-}
-else {
-
 $sb->wipe_clean($dbh);
 $sb->create_dbs($dbh, ['test']);
 
@@ -67,7 +58,6 @@ $output = `/tmp/12345/use -N -e "checksum table test.table_5_dest, test.table_5_
 my ( $chks ) = $output =~ m/dest\s+(\d+)/;
 like($output, qr/copy\s+$chks/, 'copy checksum');
 
-
 # ############################################################################
 # Issue 1260: mk-archiver --bulk-insert data loss
 # ############################################################################
@@ -93,48 +83,10 @@ is_deeply(
    "--bulk-insert archived 7 rows (issue 1260)"
 );
 
-# Test that the tool bails out early if LOAD DATA LOCAL INFILE is disabled
-{
-   if ( -d "/tmp/2900" ) {
-      diag(`$trunk/sandbox/stop-sandbox 2900 >/dev/null 2>&1`);
-   }
-
-   local $ENV{LOCAL_INFILE} = 0;
-   diag(`$trunk/sandbox/start-sandbox master 2900 >/dev/null 2>&1`);
-
-   my $master3_dbh = $sb->get_dbh_for('master3');
-
-   test_disabled_load_data($master3_dbh, $sb, 'master3', "/tmp/2900/my.sandbox.cnf");
-
-   diag(`$trunk/sandbox/stop-sandbox 2900 >/dev/null 2>&1`);
-   $master3_dbh->disconnect() if $master3_dbh;
-}
-
-}
-
-sub test_disabled_load_data {
-   my ($dbh, $sb, $master, $cnf) = @_;
-   $sb->wipe_clean($dbh);
-   $sb->create_dbs($dbh, ['test']);
-   $sb->load_file($master, 't/pt-archiver/samples/table5.sql');
-   $dbh->do('INSERT INTO `test`.`table_5_copy` SELECT * FROM `test`.`table_5`');
-
-   my ($output, undef) = full_output(
-      sub { pt_archiver::main(qw(--no-ascend --limit 50 --bulk-insert),
-         qw(--bulk-delete --where 1=1 --statistics),
-         '--source', "D=test,t=table_5,F=$cnf",
-         '--dest',   "t=table_5_dest") },
-   );
-
-   like($output,
-      qr!\Q--bulk-insert cannot work as LOAD DATA LOCAL INFILE is disabled. See http://kb.percona.com/troubleshoot-load-data-infile!,
-      "--bulk-insert throws an error if LOCAL INFILE is disabled"
-   );
-}
-
 # #############################################################################
 # Done.
 # #############################################################################
 $sb->wipe_clean($dbh);
 ok($sb->ok(), "Sandbox servers") or BAIL_OUT(__FILE__ . " broke the sandbox");
+done_testing;
 exit;
diff --git a/t/pt-archiver/bulk_regular_insert.t b/t/pt-archiver/bulk_regular_insert.t
index b8315e1e..13879833 100644
--- a/t/pt-archiver/bulk_regular_insert.t
+++ b/t/pt-archiver/bulk_regular_insert.t
@@ -22,11 +22,8 @@ my $dbh = $sb->get_dbh_for('master');
 if ( !$dbh ) {
    plan skip_all => 'Cannot connect to sandbox master';
 }
-elsif ( PerconaTest::load_data_is_disabled($dbh) ) {
-    plan skip_all => 'Cannot use --bulk-insert with LOAD DATA LOCAL INFILE disabled';
-}
-else {
-   plan tests => 5;
+elsif ( !$can_load_data ) {
+    plan skip_all => 'LOAD DATA LOCAL INFILE is disabled';
 }
 
 my $output;
@@ -98,4 +95,5 @@ is_deeply(
 # #############################################################################
 $sb->wipe_clean($dbh);
 ok($sb->ok(), "Sandbox servers") or BAIL_OUT(__FILE__ . " broke the sandbox");
+done_testing;
 exit;
diff --git a/t/pt-upgrade/basics.t b/t/pt-upgrade/basics.t
index 702be9a4..0061521c 100644
--- a/t/pt-upgrade/basics.t
+++ b/t/pt-upgrade/basics.t
@@ -29,11 +29,6 @@ if ( !$dbh1 ) {
 elsif ( !$dbh2 ) {
    plan skip_all => 'Cannot connect to second sandbox master';
 }
-else {
-   plan tests => 13;
-}
-
-my $load_data_is_disabled = PerconaTest::load_data_is_disabled($dbh1);
 
 my @host_args = ('h=127.1,P=12345', 'P=12348');
 my @op_args   = (qw(-u msandbox -p msandbox),
@@ -67,7 +62,7 @@ ok(
 );
 
 SKIP: {
-   skip "LOAD DATA LOCAL INFILE is disabled", 2 if $load_data_is_disabled;
+   skip "LOAD DATA LOCAL INFILE is disabled", 2 unless $can_load_data;
    
    ok(
       no_diff(
@@ -114,7 +109,8 @@ $sb->wipe_clean($dbh2);
 # compare-results-method=rows
 # #############################################################################
 SKIP: {
-   skip "LOAD DATA LOCAL INFILE is disabled", 4 if $load_data_is_disabled;
+   skip "LOAD DATA LOCAL INFILE is disabled", 4 unless $can_load_data;
+
    $sb->load_file('master',  "$sample/002/tables.sql");
    $sb->load_file('master1', "$sample/002/tables.sql");
 
@@ -159,7 +155,6 @@ SKIP: {
    
    $sb->wipe_clean($dbh1);
    $sb->wipe_clean($dbh2);
-
 }
 
 # #############################################################################
@@ -167,7 +162,7 @@ SKIP: {
 # precision (M) and scale (D) 
 # #############################################################################
 SKIP: {
-   skip "LOAD DATA LOCAL INFILE is disabled", 2 if $load_data_is_disabled;
+   skip "LOAD DATA LOCAL INFILE is disabled", 2 unless $can_load_data;
 
    $sb->load_file('master',  "$sample/003/tables.sql");
    $sb->load_file('master1', "$sample/003/tables.sql");
@@ -199,4 +194,5 @@ diag(`rm /tmp/left-outfile.txt /tmp/right-outfile.txt 2>/dev/null`);
 diag(`$trunk/sandbox/stop-sandbox 12348 >/dev/null`);
 $sb->wipe_clean($dbh1);
 ok($sb->ok(), "Sandbox servers") or BAIL_OUT(__FILE__ . " broke the sandbox");
+done_testing;
 exit;
diff --git a/t/pt-upgrade/warnings.t b/t/pt-upgrade/warnings.t
index 01d086b8..d745a63e 100644
--- a/t/pt-upgrade/warnings.t
+++ b/t/pt-upgrade/warnings.t
@@ -15,6 +15,13 @@ use PerconaTest;
 use Sandbox;
 require "$trunk/bin/pt-upgrade";
 
+# This test calls pt-upgrade with --compare-results-method rows
+# which use LOAD DATA LOCAL INFILE.  If LOAD DATA is disabled,
+# then this this test can't run.
+if ( !$can_load_data ) {
+   plan skip_all => 'LOAD DATA LOCAL INFILE is disabled';
+}
+
 # This runs immediately if the server is already running, else it starts it.
 diag(`$trunk/sandbox/start-sandbox master 12348 >/dev/null`);
 
@@ -31,13 +38,6 @@ elsif ( !$dbh2 ) {
    diag(`$trunk/sandbox/stop-sandbox master 12348 >/dev/null`);
    plan skip_all => 'Cannot connect to second sandbox master';
 }
-elsif ( PerconaTest::load_data_is_disabled($dbh1) ) {
-   diag(`$trunk/sandbox/stop-sandbox master 12348 >/dev/null`);
-   plan skip_all => 'LOAD DATA LOCAL INFILE is disabled';
-}
-else {
-   plan tests => 6;
-}
 
 $sb->load_file('master', 't/pt-upgrade/samples/001/tables.sql');
 $sb->load_file('master1', 't/pt-upgrade/samples/001/tables.sql');
@@ -102,4 +102,5 @@ ok(
 $sb->wipe_clean($dbh1);
 diag(`$trunk/sandbox/stop-sandbox master 12348 >/dev/null`);
 ok($sb->ok(), "Sandbox servers") or BAIL_OUT(__FILE__ . " broke the sandbox");
+done_testing;
 exit;