diff --git a/src/plugins/projectexplorer/projectexplorer.cpp b/src/plugins/projectexplorer/projectexplorer.cpp
index a4aed71e841..2bc865fc846 100644
--- a/src/plugins/projectexplorer/projectexplorer.cpp
+++ b/src/plugins/projectexplorer/projectexplorer.cpp
@@ -1556,7 +1556,8 @@ void ProjectExplorerPluginPrivate::savePersistentSettings()
     }
 
     QSettings *s = ICore::settings();
-    s->setValue(QLatin1String("ProjectExplorer/StartupSession"), SessionManager::activeSession());
+    if (!SessionManager::isDefaultVirgin())
+        s->setValue(QLatin1String("ProjectExplorer/StartupSession"), SessionManager::activeSession());
     s->remove(QLatin1String("ProjectExplorer/RecentProjects/Files"));
 
     QStringList fileNames;