diff --git a/ethcore/src/blockchain/blockchain.rs b/ethcore/src/blockchain/blockchain.rs
index ee92e5628..f7e0a29fa 100644
--- a/ethcore/src/blockchain/blockchain.rs
+++ b/ethcore/src/blockchain/blockchain.rs
@@ -297,6 +297,10 @@ impl BlockChain {
 		let best_block_hash = match bc.extras_db.get(b"best").unwrap() {
 			Some(best) => {
 				let mut new_best = H256::from_slice(&best);
+				if !bc.blocks_db.get(&new_best).unwrap().is_some() {
+					warn!("Best block {} not found", new_best.hex());
+				}
+				/* TODO: enable this once the best block issue is resolved
 				while !bc.blocks_db.get(&new_best).unwrap().is_some() {
 					match bc.rewind() {
 						Some(h) => {
@@ -308,7 +312,7 @@ impl BlockChain {
 						}
 					}
 					info!("Restored mismatched best block. Was: {}, new: {}", H256::from_slice(&best).hex(), new_best.hex());
-				}
+				}*/
 				new_best
 			}
 			None => {
diff --git a/ethcore/src/client/client.rs b/ethcore/src/client/client.rs
index e804cde57..b7e78edb1 100644
--- a/ethcore/src/client/client.rs
+++ b/ethcore/src/client/client.rs
@@ -198,10 +198,15 @@ impl Client {
 			state_db.commit(0, &spec.genesis_header().hash(), None).expect("Error commiting genesis state to state DB");
 		}
 
+		if !chain.block_header(&chain.best_block_hash()).map_or(true, |h| state_db.contains(h.state_root())) {
+			warn!("State root not found for block #{} ({})", chain.best_block_number(), chain.best_block_hash().hex());
+		}
+
+		/* TODO: enable this once the best block issue is resolved
 		while !chain.block_header(&chain.best_block_hash()).map_or(true, |h| state_db.contains(h.state_root())) {
 			warn!("State root not found for block #{} ({}), recovering...", chain.best_block_number(), chain.best_block_hash().hex());
 			chain.rewind();
-		}
+		}*/
 
 		let engine = Arc::new(spec.engine);
 
diff --git a/util/src/kvdb.rs b/util/src/kvdb.rs
index b4477e240..93dc760c4 100644
--- a/util/src/kvdb.rs
+++ b/util/src/kvdb.rs
@@ -168,8 +168,8 @@ impl Database {
 			opts.set_block_based_table_factory(&block_opts);
 		}
 
-		let mut write_opts = WriteOptions::new();
-		write_opts.disable_wal(true);
+		let write_opts = WriteOptions::new();
+		//write_opts.disable_wal(true); // TODO: make sure this is safe
 
 		let db = match DB::open(&opts, path) {
 			Ok(db) => db,