diff --git a/drivers/ata/ahci.c b/drivers/ata/ahci.c
index 53f5afd9420..bbfccdbba3a 100644
--- a/drivers/ata/ahci.c
+++ b/drivers/ata/ahci.c
@@ -49,6 +49,10 @@
 #define DRV_NAME	"ahci"
 #define DRV_VERSION	"3.0"
 
+static int ahci_skip_host_reset;
+module_param_named(skip_host_reset, ahci_skip_host_reset, int, 0444);
+MODULE_PARM_DESC(skip_host_reset, "skip global host reset (0=don't skip, 1=skip)");
+
 static int ahci_enable_alpm(struct ata_port *ap,
 		enum link_pm policy);
 static void ahci_disable_alpm(struct ata_port *ap);
@@ -1088,29 +1092,35 @@ static int ahci_reset_controller(struct ata_host *host)
 	ahci_enable_ahci(mmio);
 
 	/* global controller reset */
-	tmp = readl(mmio + HOST_CTL);
-	if ((tmp & HOST_RESET) == 0) {
-		writel(tmp | HOST_RESET, mmio + HOST_CTL);
-		readl(mmio + HOST_CTL); /* flush */
-	}
+	if (!ahci_skip_host_reset) {
+		tmp = readl(mmio + HOST_CTL);
+		if ((tmp & HOST_RESET) == 0) {
+			writel(tmp | HOST_RESET, mmio + HOST_CTL);
+			readl(mmio + HOST_CTL); /* flush */
+		}
 
-	/* reset must complete within 1 second, or
-	 * the hardware should be considered fried.
-	 */
-	ssleep(1);
+		/* reset must complete within 1 second, or
+		 * the hardware should be considered fried.
+		 */
+		ssleep(1);
 
-	tmp = readl(mmio + HOST_CTL);
-	if (tmp & HOST_RESET) {
-		dev_printk(KERN_ERR, host->dev,
-			   "controller reset failed (0x%x)\n", tmp);
-		return -EIO;
-	}
+		tmp = readl(mmio + HOST_CTL);
+		if (tmp & HOST_RESET) {
+			dev_printk(KERN_ERR, host->dev,
+				   "controller reset failed (0x%x)\n", tmp);
+			return -EIO;
+		}
 
-	/* turn on AHCI mode */
-	ahci_enable_ahci(mmio);
+		/* turn on AHCI mode */
+		ahci_enable_ahci(mmio);
 
-	/* some registers might be cleared on reset.  restore initial values */
-	ahci_restore_initial_config(host);
+		/* Some registers might be cleared on reset.  Restore
+		 * initial values.
+		 */
+		ahci_restore_initial_config(host);
+	} else
+		dev_printk(KERN_INFO, host->dev,
+			   "skipping global host reset\n");
 
 	if (pdev->vendor == PCI_VENDOR_ID_INTEL) {
 		u16 tmp16;