diff --git a/packages/desktop-electron/e2e/fixtures.ts b/packages/desktop-electron/e2e/fixtures.ts
index e1b2fc31bc..6efc8a043e 100644
--- a/packages/desktop-electron/e2e/fixtures.ts
+++ b/packages/desktop-electron/e2e/fixtures.ts
@@ -16,19 +16,30 @@ type ElectronOptions = {
    * exercise the startup error screen.
    */
   blockDocumentDir: boolean;
+  corruptGlobalPrefs: boolean;
 };
 
 // Create the extended test with fixtures
 export const test = base.extend<ElectronFixtures & ElectronOptions>({
   blockDocumentDir: [false, { option: true }],
+  corruptGlobalPrefs: [false, { option: true }],
 
-  electronApp: async ({ blockDocumentDir }, use, testInfo: TestInfo) => {
+  electronApp: async (
+    { blockDocumentDir, corruptGlobalPrefs },
+    use,
+    testInfo: TestInfo,
+  ) => {
     const uniqueTestId = testInfo.testId.replace(/[^\w-]/g, '-');
     const testDataDir = path.join('e2e/data/', uniqueTestId);
 
     await rm(testDataDir, { recursive: true, force: true }); // ensure any leftover test data is removed
     await mkdir(testDataDir, { recursive: true });
 
+    if (corruptGlobalPrefs) {
+      // Trigger a startup diagnostic before the renderer exists.
+      await writeFile(path.join(testDataDir, 'global-store.json'), '{');
+    }
+
     let documentDir = testDataDir;
     if (blockDocumentDir) {
       // A regular file can't contain a folder, so `mkdir <file>/Actual` fails
diff --git a/packages/desktop-electron/e2e/navigation-security.test.ts b/packages/desktop-electron/e2e/navigation-security.test.ts
index 0c7c6ce268..9ba5ee4fea 100644
--- a/packages/desktop-electron/e2e/navigation-security.test.ts
+++ b/packages/desktop-electron/e2e/navigation-security.test.ts
@@ -86,19 +86,22 @@ test('redirects cannot replace the app with an external page', async ({
   }
 });
 
-test('forwards queued startup logs to the app DevTools console', async ({
-  electronPage,
-}) => {
-  await expect(electronPage).toHaveURL('app://actual/config-server');
-  const messages: string[] = [];
-  const session = await electronPage.context().newCDPSession(electronPage);
-  session.on('Runtime.consoleAPICalled', event => {
-    messages.push(event.args.map(arg => arg.value).join(' '));
-  });
-  // Runtime.enable also reports console messages emitted before attachment.
-  await session.send('Runtime.enable');
-  await expect
-    .poll(() => messages.join('\n'))
-    .toContain('Could not load global state');
-  await session.detach();
-});
+const startupLogTest = test.extend({ corruptGlobalPrefs: true });
+
+startupLogTest(
+  'forwards queued startup logs to the app DevTools console',
+  async ({ electronPage }) => {
+    await expect(electronPage).toHaveURL('app://actual/config-server');
+    const messages: string[] = [];
+    const session = await electronPage.context().newCDPSession(electronPage);
+    session.on('Runtime.consoleAPICalled', event => {
+      messages.push(event.args.map(arg => arg.value).join(' '));
+    });
+    // Runtime.enable also reports console messages emitted before attachment.
+    await session.send('Runtime.enable');
+    await expect
+      .poll(() => messages.join('\n'))
+      .toContain('Could not parse global state');
+    await session.detach();
+  },
+);
diff --git a/upcoming-release-notes/fix-desktop-startup-log-test.md b/upcoming-release-notes/fix-desktop-startup-log-test.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..22ec112a80
--- /dev/null
+++ b/upcoming-release-notes/fix-desktop-startup-log-test.md
@@ -0,0 +1,6 @@
+---
+category: Maintenance
+authors: [jfdoming]
+---
+
+Fix the desktop startup logging test after changes to preferences loading.