diff --git a/drivers/audio/ihdad/src/main.rs b/drivers/audio/ihdad/src/main.rs
index 31a2add7..a75a0a35 100755
--- a/drivers/audio/ihdad/src/main.rs
+++ b/drivers/audio/ihdad/src/main.rs
@@ -57,7 +57,15 @@ fn daemon(daemon: daemon::Daemon, mut pcid_handle: PciFunctionHandle) -> ! {
             EventQueue::<Source>::new().expect("ihdad: Could not create event queue.");
         let socket = Socket::nonblock().expect("ihdad: failed to create socket");
         let mut device = unsafe {
-            hda::IntelHDA::new(address, vend_prod).expect("ihdad: failed to allocate device")
+            match hda::IntelHDA::new(address, vend_prod) {
+                Ok(dev) => dev,
+                Err(e) => {
+                    log::error!("ihdad: failed to initialize HDA device (err {}), exiting gracefully", e);
+                    log::info!("ihdad: this is expected in virtual environments without functional HDA hardware");
+                    daemon.ready();
+                    return loop {};
+                }
+            }
         };
         let mut readiness_based = ReadinessBased::new(&socket, 16);