diff --git a/source3/registry/reg_objects.c b/source3/registry/reg_objects.c
index be15e49a2f7..e6373211539 100644
--- a/source3/registry/reg_objects.c
+++ b/source3/registry/reg_objects.c
@@ -313,6 +313,8 @@ int regval_ctr_delvalue( REGVAL_CTR *ctr, char *name )
 	int 	i;
 	
 	/* search for the value */
+	if (!(ctr->num_values))
+		return 0;
 	
 	for ( i=0; i<ctr->num_values; i++ ) {
 		if ( strcmp( ctr->values[i]->valuename, name ) == 0)