diff --git a/vl.c b/vl.c
index a4a520fb7e..4871428864 100644
--- a/vl.c
+++ b/vl.c
@@ -3204,6 +3204,11 @@ int main(int argc, char **argv, char **envp)
     }
     loc_set_none();
 
+    if (machine == NULL) {
+        fprintf(stderr, "No machine found.\n");
+        exit(1);
+    }
+
     if (machine->hw_version) {
         qemu_set_version(machine->hw_version);
     }
@@ -3246,11 +3251,6 @@ int main(int argc, char **argv, char **envp)
         data_dir = CONFIG_QEMU_DATADIR;
     }
 
-    if (machine == NULL) {
-        fprintf(stderr, "No machine found.\n");
-        exit(1);
-    }
-
     /*
      * Default to max_cpus = smp_cpus, in case the user doesn't
      * specify a max_cpus value.