diff --git a/src/backends/native/meta-monitor-manager-kms.c b/src/backends/native/meta-monitor-manager-kms.c
index 836df3b67..950090f52 100644
--- a/src/backends/native/meta-monitor-manager-kms.c
+++ b/src/backends/native/meta-monitor-manager-kms.c
@@ -280,6 +280,9 @@ compute_scale (MetaOutput *output)
 {
   int scale = 1;
 
+  if (!output->crtc)
+    goto out;
+
   /* Scaling makes no sense */
   if (output->crtc->rect.width < HIDPI_MIN_HEIGHT)
     goto out;