diff --git a/drivers/mtd/mtdoops.c b/drivers/mtd/mtdoops.c
index 5a680e1..de6d151 100644
--- a/drivers/mtd/mtdoops.c
+++ b/drivers/mtd/mtdoops.c
@@ -208,7 +208,12 @@ static void mtdoops_write(struct mtdoops_context *cxt, int panic)
 		printk(KERN_ERR "mtdoops: Write failure at %d (%td of %d written), err %d.\n",
 			cxt->nextpage * OOPS_PAGE_SIZE, retlen,	OOPS_PAGE_SIZE, ret);
 
-	mtdoops_inc_counter(cxt);
+	/*
+	 * Prepare for next log-entry. If we are in panic we'll defer this
+	 * step to after reboot because mtdoops_inc_counter might sleep.
+	 */
+	if (!panic)
+		mtdoops_inc_counter(cxt);
 }