diff --git a/arch/powerpc/kvm/book3s_hv.c b/arch/powerpc/kvm/book3s_hv.c
index 721d460..55925cd 100644
--- a/arch/powerpc/kvm/book3s_hv.c
+++ b/arch/powerpc/kvm/book3s_hv.c
@@ -884,16 +884,30 @@ static int kvmppc_run_core(struct kvmppc_vcore *vc)
 		if (vcpu->arch.ceded)
 			vcpu->arch.ptid = ptid++;
 
+	/*
+	 * Grab any remaining hw threads so they can't go into the kernel.
+	 * Do this early to simplify the cleanup path if it fails.
+	 */
+	for (i = ptid; i < threads_per_core; ++i) {
+		int j, rc = kvmppc_grab_hwthread(vc->pcpu + i);
+		if (rc) {
+			for (j = i - 1; j ; j--)
+				kvmppc_release_hwthread(vc->pcpu + j);
+
+			list_for_each_entry(vcpu, &vc->runnable_threads,
+					    arch.run_list)
+				vcpu->arch.ret = -EBUSY;
+
+			goto out;
+		}
+	}
+
 	vc->stolen_tb += mftb() - vc->preempt_tb;
 	vc->pcpu = smp_processor_id();
 	list_for_each_entry(vcpu, &vc->runnable_threads, arch.run_list) {
 		kvmppc_start_thread(vcpu);
 		kvmppc_create_dtl_entry(vcpu, vc);
 	}
-	/* Grab any remaining hw threads so they can't go into the kernel */
-	for (i = ptid; i < threads_per_core; ++i)
-		kvmppc_grab_hwthread(vc->pcpu + i);
-
 	preempt_disable();
 	spin_unlock(&vc->lock);