diff --git a/hw/fdc.h b/hw/fdc.h
index 3b2fb3b248..09f73c6a9f 100644
--- a/hw/fdc.h
+++ b/hw/fdc.h
@@ -11,7 +11,10 @@ static inline void fdctrl_init_isa(DriveInfo **fds)
 {
     ISADevice *dev;
 
-    dev = isa_create("isa-fdc");
+    dev = isa_try_create("isa-fdc");
+    if (!dev) {
+        return;
+    }
     if (fds[0]) {
         qdev_prop_set_drive_nofail(&dev->qdev, "driveA", fds[0]->bdrv);
     }