diff --git a/src/modules/gconf/gconf-helper.c b/src/modules/gconf/gconf-helper.c
index 724548175..40724f4e6 100644
--- a/src/modules/gconf/gconf-helper.c
+++ b/src/modules/gconf/gconf-helper.c
@@ -97,6 +97,8 @@ int main(int argc, char *argv[]) {
     GConfClient *client;
     GSList *modules, *m;
 
+    g_type_init();
+
     if (!(client = gconf_client_get_default()))
         goto fail;