Index: khelpcenter/navigator.cpp
===================================================================
--- khelpcenter/navigator.cpp.orig
+++ khelpcenter/navigator.cpp
@@ -654,10 +654,16 @@ void Navigator::hideSearch()
 
 bool Navigator::checkSearchIndex()
 {
-  KConfig *cfg = KGlobal::config();
-  cfg->setGroup( "Search" );
-  if ( cfg->readBoolEntry( "IndexExists", false ) ) return true;
-
+  // just check that the index dir contains something
+  QDir indexDir( Prefs::indexDirectory() );
+  QStringList dirEntries = indexDir.entryList();
+  QStringList::Iterator it = dirEntries.begin();
+  const QStringList::Iterator end = dirEntries.end();
+  for ( ; it != end; ++it )
+  {
+    if ( *it != "." && *it != ".." )
+      return true;
+  }
   if ( mIndexDialog && mIndexDialog->isShown() ) return true;
 
   QString text = i18n( "A search index does not yet exist. Do you want "