diff --git a/src/core/bus.cpp b/src/core/bus.cpp
index f470b44cd..54129375a 100644
--- a/src/core/bus.cpp
+++ b/src/core/bus.cpp
@@ -154,7 +154,7 @@ static u8** s_fastmem_lut = nullptr;
 
 static bool s_kernel_initialize_hook_run = false;
 
-static bool AllocateMemoryMap(Error* error);
+static bool AllocateMemoryMap(bool export_shared_memory, Error* error);
 static void ReleaseMemoryMap();
 static void SetRAMSize(bool enable_8mb_ram);
 
@@ -197,11 +197,14 @@ static constexpr size_t TOTAL_SIZE = LUT_OFFSET + LUT_SIZE;
 #define FIXUP_WORD_WRITE_VALUE(size, offset, value)                                                                    \
   ((size == MemoryAccessSize::Word) ? (value) : ((value) << (((offset) & 3u) * 8)))
 
-bool Bus::AllocateMemoryMap(Error* error)
+bool Bus::AllocateMemoryMap(bool export_shared_memory, Error* error)
 {
-  // This executes super early in process startup, therefore export_shared_memory will always be false.
-  if (g_settings.export_shared_memory)
+  INFO_LOG("Allocating{} shared memory map.", export_shared_memory ? " EXPORTED" : "");
+  if (export_shared_memory)
+  {
     s_shmem_name = MemMap::GetFileMappingName("duckstation");
+    INFO_LOG("Shared memory object name is \"{}\".", s_shmem_name);
+  }
   s_shmem_handle = MemMap::CreateSharedMemory(s_shmem_name.c_str(), MemoryMap::TOTAL_SIZE, error);
   if (!s_shmem_handle)
   {
@@ -304,9 +307,9 @@ void Bus::ReleaseMemoryMap()
   }
 }
 
-bool Bus::AllocateMemory(Error* error)
+bool Bus::AllocateMemory(bool export_shared_memory, Error* error)
 {
-  if (!AllocateMemoryMap(error))
+  if (!AllocateMemoryMap(export_shared_memory, error))
     return false;
 
 #ifdef ENABLE_MMAP_FASTMEM
@@ -336,7 +339,7 @@ void Bus::ReleaseMemory()
   ReleaseMemoryMap();
 }
 
-bool Bus::ReallocateMemoryMap(Error* error)
+bool Bus::ReallocateMemoryMap(bool export_shared_memory, Error* error)
 {
   // Need to back up RAM+BIOS.
   DynamicHeapArray<u8> ram_backup;
@@ -354,7 +357,7 @@ bool Bus::ReallocateMemoryMap(Error* error)
   }
 
   ReleaseMemoryMap();
-  if (!AllocateMemoryMap(error)) [[unlikely]]
+  if (!AllocateMemoryMap(export_shared_memory, error)) [[unlikely]]
     return false;
 
   if (System::IsValid())
diff --git a/src/core/bus.h b/src/core/bus.h
index 4c7aa98c1..e6f3e7d0d 100644
--- a/src/core/bus.h
+++ b/src/core/bus.h
@@ -113,12 +113,12 @@ enum : u32
 static constexpr size_t FASTMEM_ARENA_SIZE = UINT64_C(0x100000000);
 #endif
 
-bool AllocateMemory(Error* error);
+bool AllocateMemory(bool export_shared_memory, Error* error);
 void ReleaseMemory();
 
 /// Frees and re-allocates the memory map for the process.
 /// This should be called when shared memory exports are enabled.
-bool ReallocateMemoryMap(Error* error);
+bool ReallocateMemoryMap(bool export_shared_memory, Error* error);
 
 /// Cleans up/deletes the shared memory object for this process.
 /// Should be called when the process crashes, to avoid leaking.
diff --git a/src/core/game_database.cpp b/src/core/game_database.cpp
index 7b4aecd94..db4c6a095 100644
--- a/src/core/game_database.cpp
+++ b/src/core/game_database.cpp
@@ -712,6 +712,7 @@ void GameDatabase::Entry::ApplySettings(Settings& settings, bool display_osd_mes
       Host::OSD_WARNING_DURATION);
   }
 
+#undef APPEND_MESSAGE_FMT
 #undef APPEND_MESSAGE
 
 #define BIT_FOR(ctype) (static_cast<u16>(1) << static_cast<u32>(ctype))
diff --git a/src/core/system.cpp b/src/core/system.cpp
index e824be28d..abd33893e 100644
--- a/src/core/system.cpp
+++ b/src/core/system.cpp
@@ -402,8 +402,11 @@ bool System::Internal::ProcessStartup(Error* error)
   if (!CPU::CodeCache::ProcessStartup(error))
     return false;
 
+  // g_settings is not valid at this point, query global config directly.
+  const bool export_shared_memory = Host::GetBoolSettingValue("Hacks", "ExportSharedMemory", false);
+
   // Fastmem alloc *must* come after JIT alloc, otherwise it tends to eat the 4GB region after the executable on MacOS.
-  if (!Bus::AllocateMemory(error))
+  if (!Bus::AllocateMemory(export_shared_memory, error))
   {
     CPU::CodeCache::ProcessShutdown();
     return false;
@@ -439,13 +442,6 @@ bool System::Internal::CPUThreadInitialize(Error* error)
   // This will call back to Host::LoadSettings() -> ReloadSources().
   LoadSettings(false);
 
-  // Yuckity yuck. We have to test for memory export explicitly, because the allocation happens before config load.
-  if (g_settings.export_shared_memory && !Bus::ReallocateMemoryMap(error))
-  {
-    Error::AddPrefix(error, "Failed to reallocate memory map:\n");
-    return false;
-  }
-
 #ifdef ENABLE_RAINTEGRATION
   if (Host::GetBaseBoolSettingValue("Cheevos", "UseRAIntegration", false))
     Achievements::SwitchToRAIntegration();
@@ -4367,7 +4363,7 @@ void System::CheckForSettingsChanges(const Settings& old_settings)
   if (g_settings.export_shared_memory != old_settings.export_shared_memory) [[unlikely]]
   {
     Error error;
-    if (!Bus::ReallocateMemoryMap(&error)) [[unlikely]]
+    if (!Bus::ReallocateMemoryMap(g_settings.export_shared_memory, &error)) [[unlikely]]
     {
       ERROR_LOG(error.GetDescription());
       Panic("Failed to reallocate memory map. The log may contain more information.");