return si_irq_handler(irq, data, regs);
 }
 
+static int smi_start_processing(void       *send_info,
+                               ipmi_smi_t intf)
+{
+       struct smi_info *new_smi = send_info;
+
+       new_smi->intf = intf;
+
+       /* Set up the timer that drives the interface. */
+       setup_timer(&new_smi->si_timer, smi_timeout, (long)new_smi);
+       new_smi->last_timeout_jiffies = jiffies;
+       mod_timer(&new_smi->si_timer, jiffies + SI_TIMEOUT_JIFFIES);
+
+       if (new_smi->si_type != SI_BT) {
+               new_smi->thread = kthread_run(ipmi_thread, new_smi,
+                                             "kipmi%d", new_smi->intf_num);
+               if (IS_ERR(new_smi->thread)) {
+                       printk(KERN_NOTICE "ipmi_si_intf: Could not start"
+                              " kernel thread due to error %ld, only using"
+                              " timers to drive the interface\n",
+                              PTR_ERR(new_smi->thread));
+                       new_smi->thread = NULL;
+               }
+       }
+
+       return 0;
+}
 
 static struct ipmi_smi_handlers handlers =
 {
        .owner                  = THIS_MODULE,
+       .start_processing       = smi_start_processing,
        .sender                 = sender,
        .request_events         = request_events,
        .set_run_to_completion  = set_run_to_completion,
 
 static inline void wait_for_timer_and_thread(struct smi_info *smi_info)
 {
-       if (smi_info->thread != NULL && smi_info->thread != ERR_PTR(-ENOMEM))
-               kthread_stop(smi_info->thread);
-       del_timer_sync(&smi_info->si_timer);
+       if (smi_info->intf) {
+               /* The timer and thread are only running if the
+                  interface has been started up and registered. */
+               if (smi_info->thread != NULL)
+                       kthread_stop(smi_info->thread);
+               del_timer_sync(&smi_info->si_timer);
+       }
 }
 
 static struct ipmi_default_vals
        if (new_smi->irq)
                new_smi->si_state = SI_CLEARING_FLAGS_THEN_SET_IRQ;
 
-       /* The ipmi_register_smi() code does some operations to
-          determine the channel information, so we must be ready to
-          handle operations before it is called.  This means we have
-          to stop the timer if we get an error after this point. */
-       init_timer(&(new_smi->si_timer));
-       new_smi->si_timer.data = (long) new_smi;
-       new_smi->si_timer.function = smi_timeout;
-       new_smi->last_timeout_jiffies = jiffies;
-       new_smi->si_timer.expires = jiffies + SI_TIMEOUT_JIFFIES;
-
-       add_timer(&(new_smi->si_timer));
-       if (new_smi->si_type != SI_BT)
-               new_smi->thread = kthread_run(ipmi_thread, new_smi,
-                                             "kipmi%d", new_smi->intf_num);
-
        if (!new_smi->dev) {
                /* If we don't already have a device from something
                 * else (like PCI), then register a new one. */
                        printk(KERN_ERR
                               "ipmi_si_intf:"
                               " Unable to allocate platform device\n");
-                       goto out_err_stop_timer;
+                       goto out_err;
                }
                new_smi->dev = &new_smi->pdev->dev;
                new_smi->dev->driver = &ipmi_driver;
                               " Unable to register system interface device:"
                               " %d\n",
                               rv);
-                       goto out_err_stop_timer;
+                       goto out_err;
                }
                new_smi->dev_registered = 1;
        }
                               new_smi,
                               &new_smi->device_id,
                               new_smi->dev,
-                              new_smi->slave_addr,
-                              &(new_smi->intf));
+                              new_smi->slave_addr);
        if (rv) {
                printk(KERN_ERR
                       "ipmi_si: Unable to register device: error %d\n",
 
 {
        struct module *owner;
 
+       /* The low-level interface cannot start sending messages to
+          the upper layer until this function is called.  This may
+          not be NULL, the lower layer must take the interface from
+          this call. */
+       int (*start_processing)(void       *send_info,
+                               ipmi_smi_t new_intf);
+
        /* Called to enqueue an SMI message to be sent.  This
           operation is not allowed to fail.  If an error occurs, it
           should report back the error in a received message.  It may
 }
 
 /* Add a low-level interface to the IPMI driver.  Note that if the
-   interface doesn't know its slave address, it should pass in zero. */
+   interface doesn't know its slave address, it should pass in zero.
+   The low-level interface should not deliver any messages to the
+   upper layer until the start_processing() function in the handlers
+   is called, and the lower layer must get the interface from that
+   call. */
 int ipmi_register_smi(struct ipmi_smi_handlers *handlers,
                      void                     *send_info,
                      struct ipmi_device_id    *device_id,
                      struct device            *dev,
-                     unsigned char            slave_addr,
-                     ipmi_smi_t               *intf);
+                     unsigned char            slave_addr);
 
 /*
  * Remove a low-level interface from the IPMI driver.  This will