diff --git a/lib_m68k/board.c b/lib_m68k/board.c
index 06b3bd5..7e586fe 100644
--- a/lib_m68k/board.c
+++ b/lib_m68k/board.c
@@ -257,6 +257,8 @@
 
 	/* Pointer is writable since we allocated a register for it */
 	gd = (gd_t *) (CFG_INIT_RAM_ADDR + CFG_GBL_DATA_OFFSET);
+	/* compiler optimization barrier needed for GCC >= 3.4 */
+	__asm__ __volatile__("": : :"memory");
 
 	/* Clear initial global data */
 	memset ((void *) gd, 0, sizeof (gd_t));