diff --git a/config_spec.yml b/config_spec.yml
index c5e5960ce8..d58b01e1f3 100644
--- a/config_spec.yml
+++ b/config_spec.yml
@@ -1,4 +1,7 @@
 general:
+  show_welcome:
+    type: bool
+    default: true
   updates:
     check:
       type: bool
diff --git a/softmmu/vl.c b/softmmu/vl.c
index 053e9418e6..7ca2647076 100644
--- a/softmmu/vl.c
+++ b/softmmu/vl.c
@@ -2789,7 +2789,6 @@ void qemu_init(int argc, char **argv, char **envp)
     // now.
     //
 
-    int first_boot = xemu_settings_did_fail_to_load();
     int fake_argc = 32 + argc;
     char **fake_argv = malloc(sizeof(char*)*fake_argc);
     memset(fake_argv, 0, sizeof(char*)*fake_argc);
@@ -2883,7 +2882,7 @@ void qemu_init(int argc, char **argv, char **envp)
 
     const char *flashrom_path = g_config.sys.files.flashrom_path;
     autostart = 0; // Do not auto-start the machine without a valid BIOS file
-    if (first_boot) {
+    if (g_config.general.show_welcome) {
         // Don't display an error if this is the first boot. Give user a chance
         // to configure the path.
     } else if (xemu_check_file(flashrom_path)) {
diff --git a/ui/xemu-hud.cc b/ui/xemu-hud.cc
index 9dde7535b8..d58f2331bb 100644
--- a/ui/xemu-hud.cc
+++ b/ui/xemu-hud.cc
@@ -671,6 +671,7 @@ public:
         xemu_settings_set_string(&g_config.sys.files.eeprom_path, eeprom_path);
         xemu_queue_notification("Settings saved. Restart to apply updates.");
         pending_restart = true;
+        g_config.general.show_welcome = false;
     }
 
     void FilePicker(const char *name, char *buf, size_t len, const char *filters)
@@ -2169,7 +2170,7 @@ void xemu_hud_init(SDL_Window* window, void* sdl_gl_context)
     ImGui_ImplSDL2_InitForOpenGL(window, sdl_gl_context);
     ImGui_ImplOpenGL3_Init("#version 150");
 
-    first_boot_window.is_open = xemu_settings_did_fail_to_load();
+    first_boot_window.is_open = g_config.general.show_welcome;
 
     int ui_scale_int = g_config.display.ui.scale;
     if (ui_scale_int < 1) ui_scale_int = 1;