diff --git a/rtl/inc/sstrings.inc b/rtl/inc/sstrings.inc
index 7f2593d070..2279fbe229 100644
--- a/rtl/inc/sstrings.inc
+++ b/rtl/inc/sstrings.inc
@@ -1277,6 +1277,9 @@ begin
     {$ifdef CPU64}
     8: UpperLimit:=High(QWord);
     {$endif CPU64}
+    else
+      { avoid error about being uninitialized }
+      UpperLimit:=0;
   end;
   {$else VER3_2}
   UpperLimit:=High(ValUInt);  //this preserves 3.2 (and earlier) behaviour