diff --git a/src/brackets.js b/src/brackets.js
index 2da29fae2..4aa4456bb 100644
--- a/src/brackets.js
+++ b/src/brackets.js
@@ -69,12 +69,12 @@ define(function (require, exports, module) {
     require("NodeConnector");
     require("command/KeyboardOverlayMode");
     require("editor/EditorManager");
+    require("project/FileViewController");
 
     // Load dependent modules
     const AppInit             = require("utils/AppInit"),
         LanguageManager     = require("language/LanguageManager"),
         ProjectManager      = require("project/ProjectManager"),
-        FileViewController  = require("project/FileViewController"),
         FileSyncManager     = require("project/FileSyncManager"),
         Commands            = require("command/Commands"),
         CommandManager      = require("command/CommandManager"),
@@ -95,8 +95,8 @@ define(function (require, exports, module) {
         DeprecationWarning  = require("utils/DeprecationWarning"),
         ViewCommandHandlers = require("view/ViewCommandHandlers"),
         NotificationUI      = require("widgets/NotificationUI"),
-        MainViewManager     = require("view/MainViewManager"),
         Metrics             = require("utils/Metrics");
+    require("view/MainViewManager");
 
     window.EventManager = EventManager; // Main event intermediary between brackets and other web pages.
     /**
@@ -361,34 +361,19 @@ define(function (require, exports, module) {
                         if (PreferencesManager._isUserScopeCorrupt()) {
                             const userPrefFullPath = PreferencesManager.getUserPrefFile();
                             // user scope can get corrupt only if the file exists, is readable,
-                            // but malformed. no need to check for its existance.
-                            const info = MainViewManager.findInAllWorkingSets(userPrefFullPath);
-                            let paneId;
-                            if (info.length) {
-                                paneId = info[0].paneId;
-                            }
+                            // but malformed. no need to check for its existence.
                             Metrics.countEvent(Metrics.EVENT_TYPE.STORAGE, "prefs.corrupt", "startup");
-                            FileViewController.openFileAndAddToWorkingSet(userPrefFullPath, paneId)
-                                .done(function () {
-                                    Dialogs.showModalDialog(
-                                        DefaultDialogs.DIALOG_ID_ERROR,
-                                        Strings.ERROR_PREFS_CORRUPT_TITLE,
-                                        Strings.ERROR_PREFS_CORRUPT
-                                    ).done(function () {
-                                        // give the focus back to the editor with the pref file
-                                        MainViewManager.focusActivePane();
-                                    });
-                                });
+                            let file = FileSystem.getFileForPath(userPrefFullPath);
+                            file.unlinkAsync().finally(function () {
+                                Dialogs.showModalDialog(
+                                    DefaultDialogs.DIALOG_ID_ERROR,
+                                    Strings.ERROR_PREFS_RESET_TITLE,
+                                    Strings.ERROR_PREFS_CORRUPT_RESET
+                                );
+                            });
                         }
                     });
                 });
-
-                // See if any startup files were passed to the application
-                if (brackets.app.getPendingFilesToOpen) {
-                    brackets.app.getPendingFilesToOpen(function (err, paths) {
-                        DragAndDrop.openDroppedFiles(paths);
-                    });
-                }
             });
         });
     }
diff --git a/src/nls/root/strings.js b/src/nls/root/strings.js
index 050821720..b6ab8a9c7 100644
--- a/src/nls/root/strings.js
+++ b/src/nls/root/strings.js
@@ -114,9 +114,11 @@ define({
 
     // Application preferences corrupt error strings
     "ERROR_PREFS_CORRUPT_TITLE": "Error Reading Preferences",
+    "ERROR_PREFS_RESET_TITLE": "Settings Reset - Restart Required",
     "ERROR_PREFS_PROJECT_LINT": "Project Preferences",
     "ERROR_PREFS_PROJECT_LINT_MESSAGE": "Error: The project contains both `.brackets.json` and `.phcode.json` files, causing a conflict. Please delete either `.brackets.json` or `.phcode.json` and then reload the project.",
     "ERROR_PREFS_CORRUPT": "Your preferences file is not valid JSON. The file will be opened so that you can correct the format. You will need to restart {APP_NAME} for the changes to take effect.",
+    "ERROR_PREFS_CORRUPT_RESET": "Your {APP_NAME} settings were damaged and have been reset. Please restart {APP_NAME} for the changes to take effect.",
     "ERROR_PROJ_PREFS_CORRUPT": "Your project preferences file is not valid JSON. The file will be opened so that you can correct the format. You will need to reload the project for the changes to take effect.",
 
     // Application error strings