diff --git a/Settings.c b/Settings.c
index 198f1f54..5ca998ad 100644
--- a/Settings.c
+++ b/Settings.c
@@ -542,7 +542,7 @@ Settings* Settings_new(unsigned int initialCpuCount, Hashtable* dynamicColumns)
    }
    if (!ok) {
       this->changed = true;
-      Settings_read(this, SYSCONFDIR "/htoprc", initialCpuCount);
+      ok = Settings_read(this, SYSCONFDIR "/htoprc", initialCpuCount);
    }
    if (!ok) {
       Settings_defaultMeters(this, initialCpuCount);