diff --git a/internal/application/application.go b/internal/application/application.go
index 697b43d..6acb748 100644
--- a/internal/application/application.go
+++ b/internal/application/application.go
@@ -66,8 +66,6 @@ func Run() {
 	var homeDir string
 	var dataDir string
 	var DB *gorm.DB
-	var initialConfig db.AppConfig
-	var result *gorm.DB
 
 	networkIsUp = false
 
@@ -110,12 +108,12 @@ func Run() {
 
 	// Populate the initial Config cache OR create defaults
 	firstRun := false
-	result = DB.Unscoped().First(&initialConfig)
-	if result.Error != nil {
-		if errors.Is(result.Error, gorm.ErrRecordNotFound) {
-			logger.Info("First run detected: Creating default configuration...")
+	startupConfig, err := db.GetConfig(DB)
+	if err != nil {
+		if errors.Is(err, gorm.ErrRecordNotFound) {
+			logger.Info("No config found in database, generating defaults")
 			firstRun = true
-			initialConfig = db.AppConfig{
+			startupConfig = &db.AppConfig{
 				DataDir:             dataDir,
 				AssetsDir:           dataDir,
 				SystemLevel:         "BASIC",
@@ -126,14 +124,15 @@ func Run() {
 				AudioEnabled:        true,
 				SavedVolume:         1.0,
 			}
-			if err := DB.Create(&initialConfig).Error; err != nil {
+
+			// Now save it to the database to create the config for all subsequent queries
+			if err := DB.Create(&startupConfig).Error; err != nil {
 				logger.Error("failed to insert default config into database: %v", err)
 				return
 			}
-		} else {
-			logger.Error("error querying database for initial config: %v", result.Error)
-			return
 		}
+		logger.Error("failed to read configuration from database")
+		return
 	}
 
 	logger.AddDatabase(DB)
diff --git a/internal/db/queries.go b/internal/db/queries.go
index 1654dbd..456578e 100644
--- a/internal/db/queries.go
+++ b/internal/db/queries.go
@@ -2,10 +2,13 @@ package db
 
 import "gorm.io/gorm"
 
+// GetConfig fetches the application config from the database
 func GetConfig(db *gorm.DB) (*AppConfig, error) {
-	var appConfig AppConfig
-	if err := db.First(&appConfig).Error; err != nil {
+	var cfg AppConfig
+	err := db.First(&cfg, 1).Error
+	if err != nil {
 		return nil, err
 	}
-	return &appConfig, nil
+
+	return &cfg, err
 }