diff --git a/tools/release.sh b/tools/release.sh
index c341c6637..897452148 100755
--- a/tools/release.sh
+++ b/tools/release.sh
@@ -249,6 +249,7 @@ else
 	srcdir=/usr/$SRC
 	( cd $srcdir && tar cf - . ) | ( cd $RELEASEDIR/usr && mkdir $SRC && cd $SRC && tar xf - )
 	REVTAG=copy
+	REVISION=unknown
 fi
 
 if [ "$USB" -ne 0 ]; then
@@ -291,7 +292,7 @@ then
 	hdemu_root_changes
 fi
 
-echo $version_pretty, SVN revision $SVNREV, generated `date` >$RELEASEDIR/etc/version
+echo $version_pretty, SVN revision $REVISION, generated `date` >$RELEASEDIR/etc/version
 echo " * Counting files"
 extrakb=`du -s $RELEASEDIR/usr/install | awk '{ print $1 }'`
 expr `df $TMPDISK1 | tail -1 | awk '{ print $4 }'` - $extrakb >$RELEASEDIR/.usrkb