--- sphinxsearch.admin.inc.old	2008-09-19 12:29:43.000000000 -0400
+++ sphinxsearch.admin.inc.new	2008-09-19 12:27:58.000000000 -0400
@@ -338,6 +338,7 @@ function sphinxsearch_settings_validate(
  */
 function sphinxsearch_check_connection_page() {
   $steps = array();
+  $sphinxsearch = &sphinxsearch_get_client();
 
   // Check connection.
   $steps['connection'] = array(
@@ -355,7 +356,6 @@ function sphinxsearch_check_connection_p
     ));
   }
 
-  $sphinxsearch = &sphinxsearch_get_client();
   $sphinxsearch_query_index = variable_get('sphinxsearch_query_index', '');
   $sphinxsearch_excerpts_index = variable_get('sphinxsearch_excerpts_index', '');