diff --git a/compositingprefs.cpp b/compositingprefs.cpp
index 0c80eaa293..42077972db 100644
--- a/compositingprefs.cpp
+++ b/compositingprefs.cpp
@@ -33,7 +33,7 @@ namespace KWin
 
 CompositingPrefs::CompositingPrefs()
     : mXgl( false )
-    , mEnableCompositing( false )
+    , mRecommendCompositing( false )
     , mEnableVSync( true )
     , mEnableDirectRendering( true )
     , mStrictBinding( true )
@@ -44,9 +44,9 @@ CompositingPrefs::~CompositingPrefs()
     {
     }
 
-bool CompositingPrefs::enableCompositing() const
+bool CompositingPrefs::recommendCompositing() const
     {
-    return mEnableCompositing;
+    return mRecommendCompositing;
     }
 
 bool CompositingPrefs::compositingPossible()
@@ -321,7 +321,7 @@ void CompositingPrefs::applyDriverSpecificOptions()
     if( mXgl )
         {
         kDebug( 1212 ) << "xgl, enabling";
-        mEnableCompositing = true;
+        mRecommendCompositing = true;
         mStrictBinding = false;
         }
     else if( mDriver == "intel" )
@@ -334,12 +334,12 @@ void CompositingPrefs::applyDriverSpecificOptions()
             if( mGLRenderer.contains( "Intel(R) 9" ))
                 { // Enable compositing by default on 900-series cards
                 kDebug( 1212 ) << "intel >= 20061017 and 900-series card, enabling compositing";
-                mEnableCompositing = true;
+                mRecommendCompositing = true;
                 }
             if( mGLRenderer.contains( "Mesa DRI Intel(R) G" ))
                 { // e.g. G43 chipset
                 kDebug( 1212 ) << "intel >= 20061017 and Gxx-series card, enabling compositing";
-                mEnableCompositing = true;
+                mRecommendCompositing = true;
                 }
             }
         }
@@ -349,7 +349,7 @@ void CompositingPrefs::applyDriverSpecificOptions()
         if( mVersion >= Version( "173.14.12" ))
             {
             kDebug( 1212 ) << "nvidia >= 173.14.12, enabling compositing";
-            mEnableCompositing = true;
+            mRecommendCompositing = true;
             }
         }
     else if( mDriver == "radeon" )
@@ -357,12 +357,12 @@ void CompositingPrefs::applyDriverSpecificOptions()
         if( mGLRenderer.startsWith( "Mesa DRI R200" ) && mVersion >= Version( "20060602" )) // krazy:exclude=strings
             {
             kDebug( 1212 ) << "radeon r200 >= 20060602, enabling compositing";
-            mEnableCompositing = true;
+            mRecommendCompositing = true;
             }
         if( mGLRenderer.startsWith( "Mesa DRI R300" ) && mVersion >= Version( "20090101" )) // krazy:exclude=strings
             {
             kDebug( 1212 ) << "radeon r300 >= 20090101, enabling compositing";
-            mEnableCompositing = true;
+            mRecommendCompositing = true;
             }
         if( mGLRenderer.startsWith( "Mesa DRI R600" ) )
             {
@@ -372,7 +372,7 @@ void CompositingPrefs::applyDriverSpecificOptions()
             if( major > 7 || ( major == 7 && minor >= 7 ) )
                 {
                 kDebug( 1212 ) << "Radeon R600/R700, Mesa 7.7 or better. Enabling compositing.";
-                mEnableCompositing = true;
+                mRecommendCompositing = true;
                 }
             }
         }
@@ -381,7 +381,7 @@ void CompositingPrefs::applyDriverSpecificOptions()
         if( mVersion >= Version( "2.1.7412" ))
             {
             kDebug( 1212 ) << "fglrx >= 2.1.7412, enabling compositing";
-            mEnableCompositing = true;
+            mRecommendCompositing = true;
             }
         }
     }
diff --git a/compositingprefs.h b/compositingprefs.h
index 0dd7533d86..b6d3b8ed2f 100644
--- a/compositingprefs.h
+++ b/compositingprefs.h
@@ -54,7 +54,7 @@ public:
     static bool compositingPossible();
     static QString compositingNotPossibleReason();
     bool validateSetup( CompositingType compositingType ) const;
-    bool enableCompositing() const; // recommendCompositing()?
+    bool recommendCompositing() const;
     bool enableVSync() const  { return mEnableVSync; }
     bool enableDirectRendering() const  { return mEnableDirectRendering; }
     bool strictBinding() const { return mStrictBinding; }
@@ -85,7 +85,7 @@ private:
     Version mVersion;
     bool mXgl;
 
-    bool mEnableCompositing;
+    bool mRecommendCompositing;
     bool mEnableVSync;
     bool mEnableDirectRendering;
     bool mStrictBinding;
diff --git a/kcmkwin/kwincompositing/main.cpp b/kcmkwin/kwincompositing/main.cpp
index 04a7e3b81e..9229585899 100644
--- a/kcmkwin/kwincompositing/main.cpp
+++ b/kcmkwin/kwincompositing/main.cpp
@@ -317,7 +317,7 @@ void KWinCompositingConfig::currentTabChanged(int tab)
 void KWinCompositingConfig::loadGeneralTab()
     {
     KConfigGroup config(mKWinConfig, "Compositing");
-    bool enabled = config.readEntry("Enabled", mDefaultPrefs.enableCompositing());
+    bool enabled = config.readEntry("Enabled", mDefaultPrefs.recommendCompositing());
     ui.useCompositing->setChecked( enabled );
     ui.animationSpeedCombo->setCurrentIndex(config.readEntry("AnimationSpeed", 3 ));
 
@@ -473,7 +473,7 @@ void KWinCompositingConfig::saveGeneralTab()
     KConfigGroup config(mKWinConfig, "Compositing");
     // Check if any critical settings that need confirmation have changed
     if(ui.useCompositing->isChecked() &&
-       ui.useCompositing->isChecked() != config.readEntry("Enabled", mDefaultPrefs.enableCompositing()))
+       ui.useCompositing->isChecked() != config.readEntry("Enabled", mDefaultPrefs.recommendCompositing()))
         m_showConfirmDialog = true;
 
     config.writeEntry("Enabled", ui.useCompositing->isChecked());
@@ -674,7 +674,7 @@ void KWinCompositingConfig::checkLoadedEffects()
     QDBusMessage message = QDBusMessage::createMethodCall( "org.kde.kwin", "/KWin", "org.kde.KWin", "loadedEffects" );
     QDBusMessage reply = QDBusConnection::sessionBus().call( message );
     KConfigGroup effectConfig = KConfigGroup( mKWinConfig, "Compositing" );
-    bool enabledAfter = effectConfig.readEntry( "Enabled", mDefaultPrefs.enableCompositing() );
+    bool enabledAfter = effectConfig.readEntry( "Enabled", mDefaultPrefs.recommendCompositing() );
 
     if( reply.type() == QDBusMessage::ReplyMessage && enabledAfter && !getenv( "KDE_FAILSAFE" ))
         {
@@ -734,7 +734,7 @@ void KWinCompositingConfig::defaults()
     {
     ui.tabWidget->setCurrentIndex(0);
 
-    ui.useCompositing->setChecked(mDefaultPrefs.enableCompositing());
+    ui.useCompositing->setChecked(mDefaultPrefs.recommendCompositing());
     ui.effectWinManagement->setChecked(true);
     ui.effectShadows->setChecked(true);
     ui.effectAnimations->setChecked(true);
diff --git a/kcmkwin/kwinscreenedges/main.cpp b/kcmkwin/kwinscreenedges/main.cpp
index 17bf7f2bf0..ab331d54be 100644
--- a/kcmkwin/kwinscreenedges/main.cpp
+++ b/kcmkwin/kwinscreenedges/main.cpp
@@ -64,9 +64,17 @@ KWinScreenEdgesConfig::KWinScreenEdgesConfig( QWidget* parent, const QVariantLis
     connect( m_ui->quickMaximizeBox, SIGNAL( stateChanged(int) ), this, SLOT( groupChanged() ));
     connect( m_ui->quickTileBox, SIGNAL( stateChanged(int) ), this, SLOT( groupChanged() ));
 
-    if( CompositingPrefs::compositingPossible() )
+    // NOTICE: this is intended to workaround broken GL implementations that succesfully segfault on glXQuery :-(
+    KConfigGroup gl_workaround_config(m_config, "Compositing");
+    const bool checkIsSafe = gl_workaround_config.readEntry("CheckIsSafe", true);
+    if( checkIsSafe && CompositingPrefs::compositingPossible() )
+        {
+        gl_workaround_config.writeEntry("CheckIsSafe", false);
+        gl_workaround_config.sync();
         m_defaultPrefs.detect(); // Driver-specific config detection
-
+        gl_workaround_config.writeEntry("CheckIsSafe", true);
+        gl_workaround_config.sync();
+        }
     load();
     }
 
@@ -413,7 +421,7 @@ void KWinScreenEdgesConfig::monitorShowEvent()
     {
     // Check if they are enabled
     KConfigGroup config( m_config, "Compositing" );
-    if( config.readEntry( "Enabled", m_defaultPrefs.enableCompositing() ))
+    if( config.readEntry( "Enabled", m_defaultPrefs.recommendCompositing() ))
         { // Compositing enabled
         config = KConfigGroup( m_config, "Plugins" );
 
diff --git a/options.cpp b/options.cpp
index f408aee808..5209586697 100644
--- a/options.cpp
+++ b/options.cpp
@@ -229,12 +229,13 @@ void Options::reloadCompositingSettings()
 
     // Compositing settings
     CompositingPrefs prefs;
-    useCompositing = config.readEntry("Enabled", true);
-    if (useCompositing)
-    {
+    if( !config.hasKey( "Enabled" ))
+        {
         prefs.detect();
-        useCompositing = prefs.enableCompositing();
-    }
+        useCompositing = prefs.recommendCompositing();
+        }
+    else
+        useCompositing = config.readEntry( "Enabled" , true );
     if (!useCompositing)
         return;