diff --git a/drivers/net/b44.c b/drivers/net/b44.c
index 36d4d37..bafca67 100644
--- a/drivers/net/b44.c
+++ b/drivers/net/b44.c
@@ -952,9 +952,10 @@
 	int rc = NETDEV_TX_OK;
 	dma_addr_t mapping;
 	u32 len, entry, ctrl;
+	unsigned long flags;
 
 	len = skb->len;
-	spin_lock_irq(&bp->lock);
+	spin_lock_irqsave(&bp->lock, flags);
 
 	/* This is a hard error, log it. */
 	if (unlikely(TX_BUFFS_AVAIL(bp) < 1)) {
@@ -1027,7 +1028,7 @@
 	dev->trans_start = jiffies;
 
 out_unlock:
-	spin_unlock_irq(&bp->lock);
+	spin_unlock_irqrestore(&bp->lock, flags);
 
 	return rc;