diff --git a/arch/arm/cpu/ixp/start.S b/arch/arm/cpu/ixp/start.S
index 59c359a..c12f1a7 100644
--- a/arch/arm/cpu/ixp/start.S
+++ b/arch/arm/cpu/ixp/start.S
@@ -273,6 +273,7 @@
 
 	adr	r0, _start
 	cmp	r0, r6
+	moveq	r9, #0		/* no relocation. relocation offset(r9) = 0 */
 	beq	clear_bss		/* skip relocation */
 	mov	r1, r6			/* r1 <- scratch for copy_loop */
 	ldr	r3, _bss_start_ofs