diff -r 5bb183666ecd -r de3c4dedef24 hotspot/src/share/vm/runtime/serviceThread.cpp
--- a/hotspot/src/share/vm/runtime/serviceThread.cpp	Thu Mar 10 17:44:32 2011 +0100
+++ b/hotspot/src/share/vm/runtime/serviceThread.cpp	Tue Mar 15 06:35:10 2011 -0700
@@ -70,11 +70,10 @@
     java_lang_Thread::set_priority(thread_oop(), NearMaxPriority);
     java_lang_Thread::set_daemon(thread_oop());
     thread->set_threadObj(thread_oop());
+    _instance = thread;
 
     Threads::add(thread);
     Thread::start(thread);
-
-    _instance = thread;
   }
 }