diff --git a/hw/ppc/prep.c b/hw/ppc/prep.c
index 1a6cd05c61..4eb5477069 100644
--- a/hw/ppc/prep.c
+++ b/hw/ppc/prep.c
@@ -278,9 +278,9 @@ static void ibm_40p_init(MachineState *machine)
 
     /* PCI -> ISA bridge */
     i82378_dev = DEVICE(pci_new(PCI_DEVFN(11, 0), "i82378"));
+    qdev_realize_and_unref(i82378_dev, BUS(pci_bus), &error_fatal);
     qdev_connect_gpio_out(i82378_dev, 0,
                           qdev_get_gpio_in(DEVICE(cpu), PPC6xx_INPUT_INT));
-    qdev_realize_and_unref(i82378_dev, BUS(pci_bus), &error_fatal);
 
     sysbus_connect_irq(pcihost, 0, qdev_get_gpio_in(i82378_dev, 15));
     isa_bus = ISA_BUS(qdev_get_child_bus(i82378_dev, "isa.0"));