diff --git a/drivers/acpi/acpica/aclocal.h b/drivers/acpi/acpica/aclocal.h
index 0d45b8bb1678..bed041d41596 100644
--- a/drivers/acpi/acpica/aclocal.h
+++ b/drivers/acpi/acpica/aclocal.h
@@ -622,7 +622,7 @@ struct acpi_control_state {
 	union acpi_parse_object *predicate_op;
 	u8 *aml_predicate_start;	/* Start of if/while predicate */
 	u8 *package_end;	/* End of if/while block */
-	u32 loop_count;		/* While() loop counter */
+	u64 loop_timeout;	/* While() loop timeout */
 };
 
 /*
diff --git a/drivers/acpi/acpica/dscontrol.c b/drivers/acpi/acpica/dscontrol.c
index f470e81b0499..244075dbc03a 100644
--- a/drivers/acpi/acpica/dscontrol.c
+++ b/drivers/acpi/acpica/dscontrol.c
@@ -118,6 +118,8 @@ acpi_ds_exec_begin_control_op(struct acpi_walk_state *walk_state,
 		control_state->control.package_end =
 		    walk_state->parser_state.pkg_end;
 		control_state->control.opcode = op->common.aml_opcode;
+		control_state->control.loop_timeout = acpi_os_get_timer() +
+		    (u64)(acpi_gbl_max_loop_iterations * ACPI_100NSEC_PER_SEC);
 
 		/* Push the control state on this walk's control stack */
 
@@ -206,14 +208,14 @@ acpi_ds_exec_end_control_op(struct acpi_walk_state *walk_state,
 			/* Predicate was true, the body of the loop was just executed */
 
 			/*
-			 * This loop counter mechanism allows the interpreter to escape
-			 * possibly infinite loops. This can occur in poorly written AML
-			 * when the hardware does not respond within a while loop and the
-			 * loop does not implement a timeout.
+			 * This infinite loop detection mechanism allows the interpreter
+			 * to escape possibly infinite loops. This can occur in poorly
+			 * written AML when the hardware does not respond within a while
+			 * loop and the loop does not implement a timeout.
 			 */
-			control_state->control.loop_count++;
-			if (control_state->control.loop_count >
-			    acpi_gbl_max_loop_iterations) {
+			if (ACPI_TIME_AFTER(acpi_os_get_timer(),
+					    control_state->control.
+					    loop_timeout)) {
 				status = AE_AML_INFINITE_LOOP;
 				break;
 			}
diff --git a/drivers/acpi/acpica/utinit.c b/drivers/acpi/acpica/utinit.c
index 23e766d1691d..45eeb0dcf283 100644
--- a/drivers/acpi/acpica/utinit.c
+++ b/drivers/acpi/acpica/utinit.c
@@ -206,7 +206,6 @@ acpi_status acpi_ut_init_globals(void)
 	acpi_gbl_next_owner_id_offset = 0;
 	acpi_gbl_debugger_configuration = DEBUGGER_THREADING;
 	acpi_gbl_osi_mutex = NULL;
-	acpi_gbl_max_loop_iterations = ACPI_MAX_LOOP_COUNT;
 
 	/* Hardware oriented */
 
diff --git a/include/acpi/acconfig.h b/include/acpi/acconfig.h
index 6db3b4668b1a..ffe364fa4040 100644
--- a/include/acpi/acconfig.h
+++ b/include/acpi/acconfig.h
@@ -145,9 +145,9 @@
 
 #define ACPI_ADDRESS_RANGE_MAX          2
 
-/* Maximum number of While() loops before abort */
+/* Maximum time (default 30s) of While() loops before abort */
 
-#define ACPI_MAX_LOOP_COUNT             0x000FFFFF
+#define ACPI_MAX_LOOP_TIMEOUT           30
 
 /******************************************************************************
  *
diff --git a/include/acpi/acpixf.h b/include/acpi/acpixf.h
index e1dd1a8d42b6..1a4322db0274 100644
--- a/include/acpi/acpixf.h
+++ b/include/acpi/acpixf.h
@@ -260,11 +260,11 @@ ACPI_INIT_GLOBAL(u8, acpi_gbl_osi_data, 0);
 ACPI_INIT_GLOBAL(u8, acpi_gbl_reduced_hardware, FALSE);
 
 /*
- * Maximum number of While() loop iterations before forced method abort.
+ * Maximum timeout for While() loop iterations before forced method abort.
  * This mechanism is intended to prevent infinite loops during interpreter
  * execution within a host kernel.
  */
-ACPI_INIT_GLOBAL(u32, acpi_gbl_max_loop_iterations, ACPI_MAX_LOOP_COUNT);
+ACPI_INIT_GLOBAL(u32, acpi_gbl_max_loop_iterations, ACPI_MAX_LOOP_TIMEOUT);
 
 /*
  * This mechanism is used to trace a specified AML method. The method is
diff --git a/include/acpi/actypes.h b/include/acpi/actypes.h
index 4f077edb9b81..ddde2790a54a 100644
--- a/include/acpi/actypes.h
+++ b/include/acpi/actypes.h
@@ -468,6 +468,8 @@ typedef void *acpi_handle;	/* Actually a ptr to a NS Node */
 #define ACPI_NSEC_PER_MSEC              1000000L
 #define ACPI_NSEC_PER_SEC               1000000000L
 
+#define ACPI_TIME_AFTER(a, b)           ((s64)((b) - (a)) < 0)
+
 /* Owner IDs are used to track namespace nodes for selective deletion */
 
 typedef u8 acpi_owner_id;