diff -r e6ad4ef83b23 -r b7da29130b0e src/hbcore/inputfw/hbinputsettingproxy.cpp
--- a/src/hbcore/inputfw/hbinputsettingproxy.cpp	Thu Sep 02 20:44:51 2010 +0300
+++ b/src/hbcore/inputfw/hbinputsettingproxy.cpp	Fri Sep 17 08:32:10 2010 +0300
@@ -177,15 +177,15 @@
 
         initializeDataArea();
     }
-
-    lock();
-
-    HbSettingProxyInternalData *prData = proxyData();
-    if (prData) {
-        ++prData->iReferences;
+#ifdef Q_OS_UNIX
+#ifndef Q_OS_SYMBIAN
+    else if (proxyData()->iVersion != HbProxyDataRequiredVersion) {
+        // In unix systems, the shared memory may be left dangling with an outdated version
+        // In that case, update all the values with defaults to make sure 
+        initializeDataArea();
     }
-
-    unlock();
+#endif // Q_OS_SYMBIAN
+#endif // Q_OS_UNIX
 
     // This is needed because qApp doesn't not exist anymore when singleton destructs.
     iSaveFile = dataFileNameAndPath();
@@ -199,13 +199,7 @@
 void HbInputSettingProxyPrivate::shutdownDataArea()
 {
     lock();
-    HbSettingProxyInternalData *prData = proxyData();
-    if (prData) {
-        prData->iReferences--;
-        if (prData->iReferences <= 0) {
-            save();
-        }
-    }
+    save();
     unlock();
 }
 
@@ -226,8 +220,6 @@
 
     HbSettingProxyInternalData *prData = proxyData();
     if (prData) {
-        prData->iReferences = 0;
-
         if (!wasLoaded) {
             // There was no permanent storage version, so initialize to defaults.
             prData->iVersion = HbProxyDataRequiredVersion;