diff --git a/drivers/mtd/nand/orion_nand.c b/drivers/mtd/nand/orion_nand.c
index f59c074..cb5175e 100644
--- a/drivers/mtd/nand/orion_nand.c
+++ b/drivers/mtd/nand/orion_nand.c
@@ -60,7 +60,12 @@ static void orion_nand_read_buf(struct mtd_info *mtd, uint8_t *buf, int len)
 	}
 	buf64 = (uint64_t *)buf;
 	while (i < len/8) {
-		uint64_t x;
+		/*
+		 * force x variable to r2/r3 registers since ldrd instruction
+		 * requires first register to be even.
+		 */
+		register uint64_t x asm ("r2");
+
 		asm volatile ("ldrd\t%0, [%1]" : "=&r" (x) : "r" (io_base));
 		buf64[i++] = x;
 	}