diff --git a/tests/test_real_bench.py b/tests/test_real_bench.py
index 43ea4e1..2b1f473 100644
--- a/tests/test_real_bench.py
+++ b/tests/test_real_bench.py
@@ -55,7 +55,8 @@ def test_load_windows_unknown_dataset_raises():
 
 def test_load_windows_real_dataset_missing_data_raises_clear_error():
     # Real loaders must raise a helpful error when the local data path is absent,
-    # rather than silently returning empty arrays.
+    # rather than silently returning empty arrays. Use a registered dataset name
+    # whose files are guaranteed absent (not 'smd', which may be present after
+    # the real-benchmark download step).
     with pytest.raises((FileNotFoundError, RuntimeError)):
-        # SMD is almost certainly not present in CI; should raise.
-        real_bench.load_windows("smd", T=64, stride=32)
+        real_bench.load_windows("swat", T=64, stride=32)