diff --git a/chef/spec/unit/provider/user/pw_spec.rb b/chef/spec/unit/provider/user/pw_spec.rb
index <HASH>..<HASH> 100644
--- a/chef/spec/unit/provider/user/pw_spec.rb
+++ b/chef/spec/unit/provider/user/pw_spec.rb
@@ -217,6 +217,9 @@ describe Chef::Provider::User::Pw do
   end
 
   describe "when loading the current state" do
+    before do
+      @provider.new_resource = Chef::Resource::User.new("adam")
+    end
 
     it "should raise an error if the required binary /usr/sbin/pw doesn't exist" do
       File.should_receive(:exists?).with("/usr/sbin/pw").and_return(false)
avoid libshadow check in User::Pw tests

This fixes the case where there's a user named "adam" with "x" for the
password field on the box running the tests