diff --git a/drivers/ata/libata-eh.c b/drivers/ata/libata-eh.c
index 79711b64054b..9159abe5211c 100644
--- a/drivers/ata/libata-eh.c
+++ b/drivers/ata/libata-eh.c
@@ -999,7 +999,9 @@ static void __ata_port_freeze(struct ata_port *ap)
  *	ata_port_freeze - abort & freeze port
  *	@ap: ATA port to freeze
  *
- *	Abort and freeze @ap.
+ *	Abort and freeze @ap.  The freeze operation must be called
+ *	first, because some hardware requires special operations
+ *	before the taskfile registers are accessible.
  *
  *	LOCKING:
  *	spin_lock_irqsave(host lock)
@@ -1013,8 +1015,8 @@ int ata_port_freeze(struct ata_port *ap)
 
 	WARN_ON(!ap->ops->error_handler);
 
-	nr_aborted = ata_port_abort(ap);
 	__ata_port_freeze(ap);
+	nr_aborted = ata_port_abort(ap);
 
 	return nr_aborted;
 }