diff --git a/drivers/char/ipmi/ipmi_si_intf.c b/drivers/char/ipmi/ipmi_si_intf.c
index 55fe9020459f..4cc72fa017c7 100644
--- a/drivers/char/ipmi/ipmi_si_intf.c
+++ b/drivers/char/ipmi/ipmi_si_intf.c
@@ -1230,14 +1230,14 @@ static int smi_start_processing(void       *send_info,
 
 	new_smi->intf = intf;
 
-	/* Try to claim any interrupts. */
-	if (new_smi->irq_setup)
-		new_smi->irq_setup(new_smi);
-
 	/* Set up the timer that drives the interface. */
 	setup_timer(&new_smi->si_timer, smi_timeout, (long)new_smi);
 	smi_mod_timer(new_smi, jiffies + SI_TIMEOUT_JIFFIES);
 
+	/* Try to claim any interrupts. */
+	if (new_smi->irq_setup)
+		new_smi->irq_setup(new_smi);
+
 	/*
 	 * Check if the user forcefully enabled the daemon.
 	 */