diff --git a/arch/x86/kernel/apm_32.c b/arch/x86/kernel/apm_32.c
index 79302e9a33a4..442b5508893f 100644
--- a/arch/x86/kernel/apm_32.c
+++ b/arch/x86/kernel/apm_32.c
@@ -811,7 +811,7 @@ static int apm_do_idle(void)
 	u8 ret = 0;
 	int idled = 0;
 	int polling;
-	int err;
+	int err = 0;
 
 	polling = !!(current_thread_info()->status & TS_POLLING);
 	if (polling) {