diff --git a/src/backend/access/transam/timeline.c b/src/backend/access/transam/timeline.c
index 57ee4e048b0..860a9964146 100644
--- a/src/backend/access/transam/timeline.c
+++ b/src/backend/access/transam/timeline.c
@@ -429,7 +429,7 @@ writeTimeLineHistory(TimeLineID newTLI, TimeLineID parentTLI,
 	 * Perform the rename using link if available, paranoidly trying to avoid
 	 * overwriting an existing file (there shouldn't be one).
 	 */
-	durable_link_or_rename(tmppath, path, ERROR);
+	durable_rename_excl(tmppath, path, ERROR);
 
 	/* The history file can be archived immediately. */
 	if (XLogArchivingActive())
@@ -507,7 +507,7 @@ writeTimeLineHistoryFile(TimeLineID tli, char *content, int size)
 	 * Perform the rename using link if available, paranoidly trying to avoid
 	 * overwriting an existing file (there shouldn't be one).
 	 */
-	durable_link_or_rename(tmppath, path, ERROR);
+	durable_rename_excl(tmppath, path, ERROR);
 }
 
 /*
diff --git a/src/backend/access/transam/xlog.c b/src/backend/access/transam/xlog.c
index bffa94f36e4..614a25242b5 100644
--- a/src/backend/access/transam/xlog.c
+++ b/src/backend/access/transam/xlog.c
@@ -3591,11 +3591,11 @@ InstallXLogFileSegment(XLogSegNo *segno, char *tmppath,
 	 * Perform the rename using link if available, paranoidly trying to avoid
 	 * overwriting an existing file (there shouldn't be one).
 	 */
-	if (durable_link_or_rename(tmppath, path, LOG) != 0)
+	if (durable_rename_excl(tmppath, path, LOG) != 0)
 	{
 		if (use_lock)
 			LWLockRelease(ControlFileLock);
-		/* durable_link_or_rename already emitted log message */
+		/* durable_rename_excl already emitted log message */
 		return false;
 	}
 
diff --git a/src/backend/storage/file/fd.c b/src/backend/storage/file/fd.c
index 34f7443110a..7dc6dd2f159 100644
--- a/src/backend/storage/file/fd.c
+++ b/src/backend/storage/file/fd.c
@@ -765,10 +765,11 @@ durable_unlink(const char *fname, int elevel)
 }
 
 /*
- * durable_link_or_rename -- rename a file in a durable manner.
+ * durable_rename_excl -- rename a file in a durable manner, without
+ * overwriting an existing target file
  *
- * Similar to durable_rename(), except that this routine tries (but does not
- * guarantee) not to overwrite the target file.
+ * Similar to durable_rename(), except that this routine will fail if the
+ * target file already exists.
  *
  * Note that a crash in an unfortunate moment can leave you with two links to
  * the target file.
@@ -779,7 +780,7 @@ durable_unlink(const char *fname, int elevel)
  * valid upon return.
  */
 int
-durable_link_or_rename(const char *oldfile, const char *newfile, int elevel)
+durable_rename_excl(const char *oldfile, const char *newfile, int elevel)
 {
 	/*
 	 * Ensure that, if we crash directly after the rename/link, a file with
@@ -788,7 +789,6 @@ durable_link_or_rename(const char *oldfile, const char *newfile, int elevel)
 	if (fsync_fname_ext(oldfile, false, false, elevel) != 0)
 		return -1;
 
-#ifdef HAVE_WORKING_LINK
 	if (link(oldfile, newfile) < 0)
 	{
 		ereport(elevel,
@@ -798,17 +798,6 @@ durable_link_or_rename(const char *oldfile, const char *newfile, int elevel)
 		return -1;
 	}
 	unlink(oldfile);
-#else
-	/* XXX: Add racy file existence check? */
-	if (rename(oldfile, newfile) < 0)
-	{
-		ereport(elevel,
-				(errcode_for_file_access(),
-				 errmsg("could not rename file \"%s\" to \"%s\": %m",
-						oldfile, newfile)));
-		return -1;
-	}
-#endif
 
 	/*
 	 * Make change persistent in case of an OS crash, both the new entry and
diff --git a/src/include/pg_config_manual.h b/src/include/pg_config_manual.h
index b4ce53300b3..d74a8dd8083 100644
--- a/src/include/pg_config_manual.h
+++ b/src/include/pg_config_manual.h
@@ -129,13 +129,6 @@
 #undef HAVE_UNIX_SOCKETS
 #endif
 
-/*
- * Define this if your operating system supports link()
- */
-#if !defined(WIN32) && !defined(__CYGWIN__)
-#define HAVE_WORKING_LINK 1
-#endif
-
 /*
  * USE_POSIX_FADVISE controls whether Postgres will attempt to use the
  * posix_fadvise() kernel call.  Usually the automatic configure tests are
diff --git a/src/include/storage/fd.h b/src/include/storage/fd.h
index 2085c62b41d..8cd125d7dfa 100644
--- a/src/include/storage/fd.h
+++ b/src/include/storage/fd.h
@@ -157,7 +157,7 @@ extern void fsync_fname(const char *fname, bool isdir);
 extern int	fsync_fname_ext(const char *fname, bool isdir, bool ignore_perm, int elevel);
 extern int	durable_rename(const char *oldfile, const char *newfile, int loglevel);
 extern int	durable_unlink(const char *fname, int loglevel);
-extern int	durable_link_or_rename(const char *oldfile, const char *newfile, int loglevel);
+extern int	durable_rename_excl(const char *oldfile, const char *newfile, int loglevel);
 extern void SyncDataDirectory(void);
 extern int	data_sync_elevel(int elevel);