diff --git a/src/spice2x/launcher/launcher.cpp b/src/spice2x/launcher/launcher.cpp
index 4c04303..f325bd3 100644
--- a/src/spice2x/launcher/launcher.cpp
+++ b/src/spice2x/launcher/launcher.cpp
@@ -2077,15 +2077,6 @@ int main_implementation(int argc, char *argv[]) {
         networkhook_init();
     }
 
-    // layeredfs
-    if (fileutils::dir_exists("data_mods") &&
-        !fileutils::file_exists("ifs_hook.dll") &&
-        !fileutils::file_exists(MODULE_PATH / "ifs_hook.dll")) {
-        log_warning("launcher", "data_mods directory was found, but ifs_hook.dll is not present; your mods will not load");
-        log_warning("launcher", "to fix this, download ifs_layeredfs and add it as a DLL hook (-k)");
-        log_warning("launcher", "https://github.com/mon/ifs_layeredfs");
-    }
-
     update_msvcrt_args(argc, argv);
 
     // load hooks
@@ -2099,6 +2090,14 @@ int main_implementation(int argc, char *argv[]) {
         }
     }
 
+    // layeredfs
+    if (fileutils::dir_exists("data_mods") &&
+        GetModuleHandleA("ifs_hook.dll") == nullptr) {
+        log_warning("launcher", "data_mods directory was found, but ifs_hook.dll is not present; your mods will not load");
+        log_warning("launcher", "to fix this, download ifs_layeredfs and add it as a DLL hook (-k)");
+        log_warning("launcher", "https://github.com/mon/ifs_layeredfs");
+    }
+
     // apply patches
     {
         overlay::windows::PatchManager patch_manager(nullptr, true);