diff --git a/libs/backends/portaudio/portaudio_backend.cc b/libs/backends/portaudio/portaudio_backend.cc
index 3555d09928..006bf3143a 100644
--- a/libs/backends/portaudio/portaudio_backend.cc
+++ b/libs/backends/portaudio/portaudio_backend.cc
@@ -433,16 +433,27 @@ static void * pthread_process (void *arg)
 	return 0;
 }
 
+bool
+PortAudioBackend::engine_halted ()
+{
+	return !_active && _run;
+}
+
+bool
+PortAudioBackend::running ()
+{
+	return _active || _run;
+}
+
 int
 PortAudioBackend::_start (bool for_latency_measurement)
 {
-	if (!_active && _run) {
-		// recover from 'halted', reap threads
+	if (engine_halted()) {
 		stop();
 	}
 
-	if (_active || _run) {
-		DEBUG_AUDIO("Already active.\n");
+	if (running()) {
+		DEBUG_AUDIO("Already started.\n");
 		return -1;
 	}
 
diff --git a/libs/backends/portaudio/portaudio_backend.h b/libs/backends/portaudio/portaudio_backend.h
index 08de76ccfb..7b3f247875 100644
--- a/libs/backends/portaudio/portaudio_backend.h
+++ b/libs/backends/portaudio/portaudio_backend.h
@@ -330,6 +330,9 @@ class PortAudioBackend : public AudioBackend {
 		void process_incoming_midi ();
 		void process_outgoing_midi ();
 
+		bool engine_halted ();
+		bool running ();
+
 	private:
 		std::string _instance_name;
 		PortAudioIO *_pcmio;