diff --git a/src/cpu/simple/base.cc b/src/cpu/simple/base.cc
index 0f4df9a421..12fb4f1654 100644
--- a/src/cpu/simple/base.cc
+++ b/src/cpu/simple/base.cc
@@ -79,6 +79,8 @@ BaseSimpleCPU::BaseSimpleCPU(Params *p)
             /* asid */ 0, mem);
 #endif // !FULL_SYSTEM
 
+    cpuXC->setStatus(ExecContext::Suspended);
+
     xcProxy = cpuXC->getProxy();
 
     numInst = 0;