diff --git a/arch/mips/kernel/cevt-r4k.c b/arch/mips/kernel/cevt-r4k.c
index ae2984fff580026cb30c597bbfc83704867a2230..cb46b02e02a501e31d2b68bd30052cd373e81900 100644
--- a/arch/mips/kernel/cevt-r4k.c
+++ b/arch/mips/kernel/cevt-r4k.c
@@ -220,7 +220,7 @@ void __cpuinit mips_clockevent_init(void)
 	struct clock_event_device *cd;
 	unsigned int irq = MIPS_CPU_IRQ_BASE + 7;
 
-	if (!cpu_has_counter)
+	if (!cpu_has_counter || !mips_hpt_frequency)
 		return;
 
 #ifdef CONFIG_MIPS_MT_SMTC