diff --git a/gpt4all-chat/llm.cpp b/gpt4all-chat/llm.cpp
index 8a69d6e7..f831ea47 100644
--- a/gpt4all-chat/llm.cpp
+++ b/gpt4all-chat/llm.cpp
@@ -8,6 +8,7 @@
 #include <QFile>
 #include <QProcess>
 #include <QResource>
+#include <QSettings>
 #include <fstream>
 
 class MyLLM: public LLM { };
@@ -48,7 +49,13 @@ LLM::LLM()
 #endif
 
     m_compatHardware = minimal;
-    emit compatHardwareChanged();
+}
+
+bool LLM::hasSettingsAccess() const
+{
+    QSettings settings;
+    settings.sync();
+    return settings.status() == QSettings::NoError;
 }
 
 bool LLM::checkForUpdates() const
diff --git a/gpt4all-chat/llm.h b/gpt4all-chat/llm.h
index 8b8894fa..8a582e3a 100644
--- a/gpt4all-chat/llm.h
+++ b/gpt4all-chat/llm.h
@@ -6,12 +6,11 @@
 class LLM : public QObject
 {
     Q_OBJECT
-    Q_PROPERTY(bool compatHardware READ compatHardware NOTIFY compatHardwareChanged)
-
 public:
     static LLM *globalInstance();
 
-    bool compatHardware() const { return m_compatHardware; }
+    Q_INVOKABLE bool hasSettingsAccess() const;
+    Q_INVOKABLE bool compatHardware() const { return m_compatHardware; }
 
     Q_INVOKABLE bool checkForUpdates() const;
     Q_INVOKABLE bool directoryExists(const QString &path) const;
@@ -22,7 +21,6 @@ public:
 Q_SIGNALS:
     void chatListModelChanged();
     void modelListChanged();
-    void compatHardwareChanged();
 
 private:
     bool m_compatHardware;
diff --git a/gpt4all-chat/main.qml b/gpt4all-chat/main.qml
index 99ba5853..6c850805 100644
--- a/gpt4all-chat/main.qml
+++ b/gpt4all-chat/main.qml
@@ -89,14 +89,22 @@ Window {
 
     property bool hasShownModelDownload: false
     property bool hasShownFirstStart: false
+    property bool hasShownSettingsAccess: false
 
     function startupDialogs() {
-        if (!LLM.compatHardware) {
+        if (!LLM.compatHardware()) {
             Network.sendNonCompatHardware();
             errorCompatHardware.open();
             return;
         }
 
+        // check if we have access to settings and if not show an error
+        if (!hasShownSettingsAccess && !LLM.hasSettingsAccess()) {
+            errorSettingsAccess.open();
+            hasShownSettingsAccess = true;
+            return;
+        }
+
         // check for first time start of this version
         if (!hasShownFirstStart && Download.isFirstStart()) {
             firstStartDialog.open();
@@ -135,6 +143,20 @@ Window {
             + qsTr("https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advanced_Vector_Extensions</a>")
     }
 
+    PopupDialog {
+        id: errorSettingsAccess
+        anchors.centerIn: parent
+        shouldTimeOut: false
+        shouldShowBusy: false
+        modal: true
+        text: qsTr("<h3>Encountered an error starting up:</h3><br>")
+            + qsTr("<i>\"Inability to access settings file.\"</i>")
+            + qsTr("<br><br>Unfortunately, something is preventing the program from accessing ")
+            + qsTr("the settings file. This could be caused by incorrect permissions in the local ")
+            + qsTr("app config directory where the settings file is located. ")
+            + qsTr("Check out our <a href=\"https://discord.gg/4M2QFmTt2k\">discord channel</a> for help.")
+    }
+
     StartupDialog {
         id: firstStartDialog
         anchors.centerIn: parent