diff --git a/nboard b/nboard
index b8a4c09..3a1b26f 100755
--- a/nboard
+++ b/nboard
@@ -114,7 +114,11 @@ def main(stdscr):
 
 
 if __name__ == "__main__":
-    if len(sys.argv) > 1 and (sys.argv[1] == '--help' or sys.argv[1] == 'help'):
+    try:
+        dExists = os.path.isfile(dataPath)
+    except:
+        dExists = False
+    if not dExists or len(sys.argv) > 1 and (sys.argv[1] == '--help' or sys.argv[1] == 'help'):
         print("""
 nboard is like yourworldoftext.com, except its in a terminal.