diff --git a/build/jam/BuildSetup b/build/jam/BuildSetup
index 21c0a2a075..5942fccc81 100644
--- a/build/jam/BuildSetup
+++ b/build/jam/BuildSetup
@@ -180,6 +180,11 @@ switch $(HAIKU_CPU) {
 		HAIKU_BOOT_PLATFORM = bios_ia32 ;
 		# offset in floppy image (>= sizeof(haiku_loader))
 		HAIKU_BOOT_ARCHIVE_IMAGE_OFFSET = 300 ; # in kB
+
+		# yasm is required for target arch x86
+		if ! $(HAIKU_YASM) {
+			Exit "HAIKU_YASM not set. Please re-run configure." ;
+		}
 	}
 	case m68k :
 	{
diff --git a/build/jam/MainBuildRules b/build/jam/MainBuildRules
index 0486010394..18ba52d2f8 100644
--- a/build/jam/MainBuildRules
+++ b/build/jam/MainBuildRules
@@ -175,9 +175,9 @@ rule AssembleNasm
 actions AssembleNasm
 {
 	if test $(ASFLAGS) ; then
-		yasm -d $(ASFLAGS) -f elf32 -o $(1) $(2);
+		$(HAIKU_YASM) -d $(ASFLAGS) -f elf32 -o $(1) $(2);
 	else
-		yasm -f elf32 -o $(1) $(2);
+		$(HAIKU_YASM) -f elf32 -o $(1) $(2);
 	fi
 }
 
diff --git a/configure b/configure
index f1a6709c0a..ac761b2e09 100755
--- a/configure
+++ b/configure
@@ -75,6 +75,7 @@ environment variables:
   HAIKU_LD                    The linker. Defaults to "ld".
   HAIKU_OBJCOPY               The objcopy to be used. Defaults to "objcopy".
   HAIKU_RANLIB                The static library indexer. Defaults to "ranlib".
+  HAIKU_YASM                  The yasm assembler (x86 only).
   HAIKU_CPPFLAGS              The preprocessor flags. Defaults to "".
   HAIKU_CCFLAGS               The C flags. Defaults to "".
   HAIKU_CXXFLAGS              The C++ flags. Defaults to "".
@@ -260,6 +261,7 @@ include3rdParty=0
 enableMultiuser=0
 distroCompatibility=default
 target=haiku
+targetArch=x86
 useGCCPipe=0
 use32bit=0
 useXattr=0
@@ -279,6 +281,7 @@ set_default_value HAIKU_CC			gcc
 set_default_value HAIKU_LD			ld
 set_default_value HAIKU_OBJCOPY		objcopy
 set_default_value HAIKU_RANLIB		ranlib
+set_default_value HAIKU_YASM		yasm
 set_default_value HAIKU_CPPFLAGS	""
 set_default_value HAIKU_CCFLAGS		""
 set_default_value HAIKU_CXXFLAGS	""
@@ -298,10 +301,10 @@ while [ $# -gt 0 ] ; do
 			buildCrossToolsScript="${buildCrossToolsScript}_gcc4"
 			case "$2" in
 				x86)	haikuGCCMachine=i586-pc-haiku;;
-				ppc)	haikuGCCMachine=powerpc-apple-haiku;;
-				m68k)	haikuGCCMachine=m68k-unknown-haiku;;
-				arm)	haikuGCCMachine=arm-unknown-haiku;;
-				mipsel)	haikuGCCMachine=mipsel-unknown-haiku;;
+				ppc)	haikuGCCMachine=powerpc-apple-haiku; targetArch=ppc;;
+				m68k)	haikuGCCMachine=m68k-unknown-haiku; targetArch=m86k;;
+				arm)	haikuGCCMachine=arm-unknown-haiku; targetArch=arm;;
+				mipsel)	haikuGCCMachine=mipsel-unknown-haiku; targetArch=mips;;
 				*)		echo "Unsupported target architecture: $2"
 						exit 1;;
 			esac
@@ -380,6 +383,30 @@ case "${platform}" in
 			exit 1 ;;
 esac
 
+# check yasm version
+if [ $targetArch = "x86" ]; then
+	$HAIKU_YASM --version > /dev/null || {
+		echo "The yasm assembler version 0.7.2 or later must be installed."
+		echo "Download from: http://www.tortall.net/projects/yasm/wiki/Download"
+		exit 1
+	}
+
+	set -- $($HAIKU_YASM --version | head -n 1)
+	versionOK=0
+	case $2 in
+		0.[0-6].*)		echo match1;;
+		0.7.[0-1].*)	echo match2;;
+		*)				versionOK=1 ;;
+	esac
+
+	if [ $versionOK = 0 ]; then
+		echo "The yasm assembler version 0.7.2 or later must be installed."
+		echo "The installed version is $2."
+		echo "Download from: http://www.tortall.net/projects/yasm/wiki/Download"
+		exit 1
+	fi
+fi
+
 # create output directory
 if [ "$currentDir" = "$sourceDir" ]; then
 	outputDir=$currentDir/generated
@@ -458,6 +485,7 @@ HAIKU_CC					?= ${HAIKU_CC} ;
 HAIKU_LD					?= ${HAIKU_LD} ;
 HAIKU_OBJCOPY				?= ${HAIKU_OBJCOPY} ;
 HAIKU_RANLIB				?= ${HAIKU_RANLIB} ;
+HAIKU_YASM					?= ${HAIKU_YASM} ;
 HAIKU_CPPFLAGS				?= ${HAIKU_CPPFLAGS} ;
 HAIKU_CCFLAGS				?= ${HAIKU_CCFLAGS} ;
 HAIKU_CXXFLAGS				?= ${HAIKU_CXXFLAGS} ;