diff --git a/MagickCore/configure.c b/MagickCore/configure.c
index 9f19151..dd984b8 100644
--- a/MagickCore/configure.c
+++ b/MagickCore/configure.c
@@ -234,7 +234,8 @@
 */
 MagickPrivate MagickBooleanType ConfigureComponentGenesis(void)
 {
-  configure_semaphore=AcquireSemaphoreInfo();
+  if (configure_semaphore == (SemaphoreInfo *) NULL)
+    configure_semaphore=AcquireSemaphoreInfo();
   return(MagickTrue);
 }