diff --git a/drivers/scsi/dc395x.c b/drivers/scsi/dc395x.c
index 3943347ec3c7..16b9dc2fff6b 100644
--- a/drivers/scsi/dc395x.c
+++ b/drivers/scsi/dc395x.c
@@ -4805,6 +4805,7 @@ static int dc395x_init_one(struct pci_dev *dev, const struct pci_device_id *id)
 	/* initialise the adapter and everything we need */
  	if (adapter_init(acb, io_port_base, io_port_len, irq)) {
 		dprintkl(KERN_INFO, "adapter init failed\n");
+		acb = NULL;
 		goto fail;
 	}