diff --git a/driver/audio_driver.c b/driver/audio_driver.c
index 3d9debd..cc6240e 100644
--- a/driver/audio_driver.c
+++ b/driver/audio_driver.c
@@ -936,6 +936,8 @@
             chip->dma_playback_offset = 0;
             chip->dma_playback_buffer = runtime->dma_area;
             chip->pcm_playback_buffer_size = snd_pcm_lib_buffer_bytes(chip->playback_substream);
+            // early startup to fix problem with read-write interleaved mode pre-buffering
+            chip->mr_alsa_audio_ops->start_interrupts(chip->ravenna_peer, 1);
         }
         else if(substream->stream == SNDRV_PCM_STREAM_CAPTURE)
         {
index 5a90eca..8023708 100644
--- a/driver/manager.c
+++ b/driver/manager.c
@@ -271,6 +271,10 @@
         return false;
 
     MTAL_DP("MergingRAVENNAAudioDriver::startIO\n");
+    if (is_playback && self->m_bIsPlaybackIO)
+        return true;
+    if (!is_playback && self->m_bIsRecordingIO)
+        return true;
 
     if (!is_playback) {
         printk(KERN_DEBUG "starting capture I/O\n");