diff --git a/src/plugins/projectexplorer/kitmanager.cpp b/src/plugins/projectexplorer/kitmanager.cpp
index af7767883cbf1f1171b476066e20b8870309ab16..1a2b15b1031d732737d558e9bcdd33bc4229aa74 100644
--- a/src/plugins/projectexplorer/kitmanager.cpp
+++ b/src/plugins/projectexplorer/kitmanager.cpp
@@ -161,7 +161,10 @@ void KitManager::restoreKits()
     }
 
     // read all kits from user file
-    KitList userKits = restoreKits(settingsFileName());
+    KitList userKits;
+    Utils::FileName userSettingsFile(settingsFileName());
+    if (userSettingsFile.toFileInfo().exists())
+        userKits = restoreKits(userSettingsFile);
     foreach (Kit *k, userKits.kits) {
         if (k->isSdkProvided())
             kitsToCheck.append(k);