diff --git a/hw/ide/core.c b/hw/ide/core.c
index dbb7accca0..3b84bea5cf 100644
--- a/hw/ide/core.c
+++ b/hw/ide/core.c
@@ -2617,6 +2617,11 @@ int ide_init_drive(IDEState *s, BlockDriverState *bs,
     if (bdrv_get_type_hint(bs) == BDRV_TYPE_CDROM) {
         s->drive_kind = IDE_CD;
         bdrv_set_change_cb(bs, cdrom_change_cb, s);
+    } else {
+        if (bdrv_is_read_only(bs)) {
+            error_report("Can't use a read-only drive");
+            return -1;
+        }
     }
     if (serial) {
         strncpy(s->drive_serial_str, serial, sizeof(s->drive_serial_str));