diff --git a/pkg/agent/containerd/containerd.go b/pkg/agent/containerd/containerd.go
index 119c38e2b6..fcd2dc708c 100644
--- a/pkg/agent/containerd/containerd.go
+++ b/pkg/agent/containerd/containerd.go
@@ -131,7 +131,9 @@ func Run(ctx context.Context, cfg *config.Node) error {
 
 func preloadImages(cfg *config.Node) error {
 	fileInfo, err := os.Stat(cfg.Images)
-	if err != nil {
+	if os.IsNotExist(err) {
+		return nil
+	} else if err != nil {
 		logrus.Errorf("Unable to find images in %s: %v", cfg.Images, err)
 		return nil
 	}