diff --git a/kexec/arch/i386/kexec-bzImage.c b/kexec/arch/i386/kexec-bzImage.c
index c1345d58..6180764d 100644
--- a/kexec/arch/i386/kexec-bzImage.c
+++ b/kexec/arch/i386/kexec-bzImage.c
@@ -200,10 +200,10 @@ int do_bzImage_load(struct kexec_info *info,
 	 * overflow takes place while applying relocations.
 	 */
 	if (!real_mode_entry && relocatable_kernel)
-		elf_rel_build_load(info, &info->rhdr, (char *) purgatory, purgatory_size,
+		elf_rel_build_load(info, &info->rhdr, purgatory, purgatory_size,
 					0x3000, 0x7fffffff, -1, 0);
 	else
-		elf_rel_build_load(info, &info->rhdr, (char *) purgatory, purgatory_size,
+		elf_rel_build_load(info, &info->rhdr, purgatory, purgatory_size,
 					0x3000, 640*1024, -1, 0);
 	dbgprintf("Loaded purgatory at addr 0x%lx\n", info->rhdr.rel_addr);
 	/* The argument/parameter segment */
diff --git a/kexec/arch/i386/kexec-elf-x86.c b/kexec/arch/i386/kexec-elf-x86.c
index 2e394e94..ccc57786 100644
--- a/kexec/arch/i386/kexec-elf-x86.c
+++ b/kexec/arch/i386/kexec-elf-x86.c
@@ -191,7 +191,7 @@ int elf_x86_load(int argc, char **argv, const char *buf, off_t len,
 	/* Do we want arguments? */
 	if (arg_style != ARG_STYLE_NONE) {
 		/* Load the setup code */
-		elf_rel_build_load(info, &info->rhdr, (char *) purgatory, purgatory_size,
+		elf_rel_build_load(info, &info->rhdr, purgatory, purgatory_size,
 			0, ULONG_MAX, 1, 0);
 	}
 	if (arg_style == ARG_STYLE_NONE) {
diff --git a/kexec/arch/i386/kexec-multiboot-x86.c b/kexec/arch/i386/kexec-multiboot-x86.c
index 2a8a8a8d..970de2af 100644
--- a/kexec/arch/i386/kexec-multiboot-x86.c
+++ b/kexec/arch/i386/kexec-multiboot-x86.c
@@ -217,7 +217,7 @@ int multiboot_x86_load(int argc, char **argv, const char *buf, off_t len,
 	elf_exec_build_load(info, &ehdr, buf, len, 0);
 
 	/* Load the setup code */
-	elf_rel_build_load(info, &info->rhdr, (char *) purgatory, purgatory_size, 0,
+	elf_rel_build_load(info, &info->rhdr, purgatory, purgatory_size, 0,
 				ULONG_MAX, 1, 0);
 	
 	/* The first segment will contain the multiboot headers:
diff --git a/kexec/arch/ppc64/kexec-elf-ppc64.c b/kexec/arch/ppc64/kexec-elf-ppc64.c
index 2a72482c..d65a5d57 100644
--- a/kexec/arch/ppc64/kexec-elf-ppc64.c
+++ b/kexec/arch/ppc64/kexec-elf-ppc64.c
@@ -207,7 +207,7 @@ int elf_ppc64_load(int argc, char **argv, const char *buf, off_t len,
 	}
 
 	/* Add v2wrap to the current image */
-	elf_rel_build_load(info, &info->rhdr, (const char *)purgatory,
+	elf_rel_build_load(info, &info->rhdr, purgatory,
 				purgatory_size, 0, max_addr, 1, 0);
 
 	/* Add a ram-disk to the current image
diff --git a/kexec/kexec.h b/kexec/kexec.h
index 63e7bfaf..ccda5398 100644
--- a/kexec/kexec.h
+++ b/kexec/kexec.h
@@ -226,7 +226,7 @@ extern void arch_reuse_initrd(void);
 
 extern int ifdown(void);
 
-extern unsigned char purgatory[];
+extern char purgatory[];
 extern size_t purgatory_size;
 
 #define BOOTLOADER "kexec"
diff --git a/util/bin-to-hex.c b/util/bin-to-hex.c
index 5906f936..48a71e75 100644
--- a/util/bin-to-hex.c
+++ b/util/bin-to-hex.c
@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@ int main(int argc, char **argv)
 	int i;
 	const char *name = argv[1];
 	printf("#include <stddef.h>\n");
-	printf("const unsigned char %s[] = {\n", name);
+	printf("const char %s[] = {\n", name);
 	i = 0;
 	while((c = getchar()) != EOF) {
 		if ((i % 16) != 0) {