diff --git a/sys/ia64/ia64/machdep.c b/sys/ia64/ia64/machdep.c
index 5c281b032cfc..e9866f53003f 100644
--- a/sys/ia64/ia64/machdep.c
+++ b/sys/ia64/ia64/machdep.c
@@ -613,7 +613,8 @@ ia64_init(void)
 		printf("WARNING: loader(8) metadata is missing!\n");
 
 	/* Get FPSWA interface */
-	fpswa_iface = (struct fpswa_iface *)IA64_PHYS_TO_RR7(bootinfo.bi_fpswa);
+	fpswa_iface = (bootinfo.bi_fpswa == 0) ? NULL :
+	    (struct fpswa_iface *)IA64_PHYS_TO_RR7(bootinfo.bi_fpswa);
 
 	/* Init basic tunables, including hz */
 	init_param1();