diff --git a/src/qemu/qemu_cgroup.c b/src/qemu/qemu_cgroup.c
index 61894900b7..11c9d29f50 100644
--- a/src/qemu/qemu_cgroup.c
+++ b/src/qemu/qemu_cgroup.c
@@ -683,6 +683,9 @@ qemuInitCgroup(virQEMUDriverPtr driver,
                                     &priv->cgroup) < 0)
         goto cleanup;
 
+    if (virCgroupAddTask(priv->cgroup, vm->pid) < 0)
+        goto cleanup;
+
 done:
     ret = 0;
 cleanup:
@@ -738,6 +741,12 @@ qemuSetupCgroup(virQEMUDriverPtr driver,
     virCapsPtr caps = NULL;
     int ret = -1;
 
+    if (!vm->pid) {
+        virReportError(VIR_ERR_INTERNAL_ERROR, "%s",
+                       _("Cannot setup cgroups until process is started"));
+        return -1;
+    }
+
     if (qemuInitCgroup(driver, vm) < 0)
         return -1;
 
@@ -1009,8 +1018,5 @@ qemuAddToCgroup(virDomainObjPtr vm)
     if (priv->cgroup == NULL)
         return 0; /* Not supported, so claim success */
 
-    if (virCgroupAddTask(priv->cgroup, getpid()) < 0)
-        return -1;
-
     return 0;
 }
diff --git a/src/qemu/qemu_process.c b/src/qemu/qemu_process.c
index c5f281a866..e8e459e23d 100644
--- a/src/qemu/qemu_process.c
+++ b/src/qemu/qemu_process.c
@@ -1929,6 +1929,12 @@ qemuProcessInitCpuAffinity(virQEMUDriverPtr driver,
     virBitmapPtr cpumap = NULL;
     virBitmapPtr cpumapToSet = NULL;
 
+    if (!vm->pid) {
+        virReportError(VIR_ERR_INTERNAL_ERROR, "%s",
+                       _("Cannot setup CPU affinity until process is started"));
+        return -1;
+    }
+
     if (!(cpumap = qemuPrepareCpumap(driver, nodemask)))
         return -1;
 
@@ -1949,11 +1955,7 @@ qemuProcessInitCpuAffinity(virQEMUDriverPtr driver,
         }
     }
 
-    /* We are pressuming we are running between fork/exec of QEMU
-     * so use '0' to indicate our own process ID. No threads are
-     * running at this point
-     */
-    if (virProcessSetAffinity(0 /* Self */, cpumapToSet) < 0)
+    if (virProcessSetAffinity(vm->pid, cpumapToSet) < 0)
         goto cleanup;
 
     ret = 0;
@@ -2562,19 +2564,6 @@ static int qemuProcessHook(void *data)
     if (virSecurityManagerClearSocketLabel(h->driver->securityManager, h->vm->def) < 0)
         goto cleanup;
 
-    /* This must take place before exec(), so that all QEMU
-     * memory allocation is on the correct NUMA node
-     */
-    VIR_DEBUG("Moving process to cgroup");
-    if (qemuAddToCgroup(h->vm) < 0)
-        goto cleanup;
-
-    /* This must be done after cgroup placement to avoid resetting CPU
-     * affinity */
-    if (!h->vm->def->cputune.emulatorpin &&
-        qemuProcessInitCpuAffinity(h->driver, h->vm, h->nodemask) < 0)
-        goto cleanup;
-
     if (virNumaSetupMemoryPolicy(h->vm->def->numatune, h->nodemask) < 0)
         goto cleanup;
 
@@ -3671,10 +3660,6 @@ int qemuProcessStart(virConnectPtr conn,
             goto cleanup;
     }
 
-    VIR_DEBUG("Setting up domain cgroup (if required)");
-    if (qemuSetupCgroup(driver, vm, nodemask) < 0)
-        goto cleanup;
-
     if (VIR_ALLOC(priv->monConfig) < 0)
         goto cleanup;
 
@@ -3844,6 +3829,16 @@ int qemuProcessStart(virConnectPtr conn,
         goto cleanup;
     }
 
+    VIR_DEBUG("Setting up domain cgroup (if required)");
+    if (qemuSetupCgroup(driver, vm, nodemask) < 0)
+        goto cleanup;
+
+    /* This must be done after cgroup placement to avoid resetting CPU
+     * affinity */
+    if (!vm->def->cputune.emulatorpin &&
+        qemuProcessInitCpuAffinity(driver, vm, nodemask) < 0)
+        goto cleanup;
+
     VIR_DEBUG("Setting domain security labels");
     if (virSecurityManagerSetAllLabel(driver->securityManager,
                                       vm->def, stdin_path) < 0)