diff --git a/tools/perf/util/evsel.c b/tools/perf/util/evsel.c
index 245ac50..8d30cbd 100644
--- a/tools/perf/util/evsel.c
+++ b/tools/perf/util/evsel.c
@@ -2384,6 +2384,9 @@
 	 "No such device - did you specify an out-of-range profile CPU?");
 		break;
 	case EOPNOTSUPP:
+		if (evsel->attr.sample_period != 0)
+			return scnprintf(msg, size, "%s",
+	"PMU Hardware doesn't support sampling/overflow-interrupts.");
 		if (evsel->attr.precise_ip)
 			return scnprintf(msg, size, "%s",
 	"\'precise\' request may not be supported. Try removing 'p' modifier.");