diff --git a/scripts/mkcompile_h b/scripts/mkcompile_h
index fd8fdb91581d..f1ee4ebd6518 100755
--- a/scripts/mkcompile_h
+++ b/scripts/mkcompile_h
@@ -27,12 +27,7 @@ LC_ALL=C
 export LC_ALL
 
 if [ -z "$KBUILD_BUILD_VERSION" ]; then
-	if [ -r .version ]; then
-		VERSION=`cat .version`
-	else
-		VERSION=0
-		echo 0 > .version
-	fi
+	VERSION=$(cat .version 2>/dev/null || echo 1)
 else
 	VERSION=$KBUILD_BUILD_VERSION
 fi