diff --git a/target/s390x/cpu.c b/target/s390x/cpu.c
index 08eb674d22..749cd548f0 100644
--- a/target/s390x/cpu.c
+++ b/target/s390x/cpu.c
@@ -291,9 +291,9 @@ static void s390_cpu_initfn(Object *obj)
     S390CPU *cpu = S390_CPU(obj);
 
     cpu_set_cpustate_pointers(cpu);
-    cs->halted = 1;
     cs->exception_index = EXCP_HLT;
 #if !defined(CONFIG_USER_ONLY)
+    cs->start_powered_off = true;
     object_property_add(obj, "crash-information", "GuestPanicInformation",
                         s390_cpu_get_crash_info_qom, NULL, NULL, NULL);
     cpu->env.tod_timer =