diff --git a/src/xcms/cmsColNm.c b/src/xcms/cmsColNm.c
index eacff2f3..e3ca5183 100644
--- a/src/xcms/cmsColNm.c
+++ b/src/xcms/cmsColNm.c
@@ -735,6 +735,8 @@ LoadColornameDB(void)
     }
 
     if ((stream = _XFopenFile (pathname, "r")) == NULL) {
+	/* can't open file */
+	XcmsColorDbState = XcmsDbInitFailure;
 	return(XcmsFailure);
     }