diff --git a/gerrit-pgm/src/main/java/com/google/gerrit/pgm/Daemon.java b/gerrit-pgm/src/main/java/com/google/gerrit/pgm/Daemon.java
index 8c6879d821..96c97b0ba1 100644
--- a/gerrit-pgm/src/main/java/com/google/gerrit/pgm/Daemon.java
+++ b/gerrit-pgm/src/main/java/com/google/gerrit/pgm/Daemon.java
@@ -31,6 +31,7 @@ import com.google.gerrit.server.config.CanonicalWebUrlModule;
 import com.google.gerrit.server.config.CanonicalWebUrlProvider;
 import com.google.gerrit.server.config.GerritGlobalModule;
 import com.google.gerrit.server.config.MasterNodeStartup;
+import com.google.gerrit.server.schema.SchemaVersionCheck;
 import com.google.gerrit.sshd.SshModule;
 import com.google.gerrit.sshd.commands.MasterCommandModule;
 import com.google.gerrit.sshd.commands.SlaveCommandModule;
@@ -185,6 +186,7 @@ public class Daemon extends SiteProgram {
 
   private Injector createSysInjector() {
     final List<Module> modules = new ArrayList<Module>();
+    modules.add(SchemaVersionCheck.module());
     modules.add(new LogFileCompressor.Module());
     modules.add(cfgInjector.getInstance(GerritGlobalModule.class));
     if (httpd) {
diff --git a/gerrit-pgm/src/main/java/com/google/gerrit/pgm/ExportReviewNotes.java b/gerrit-pgm/src/main/java/com/google/gerrit/pgm/ExportReviewNotes.java
index 94cad95535..7b8c286ae3 100644
--- a/gerrit-pgm/src/main/java/com/google/gerrit/pgm/ExportReviewNotes.java
+++ b/gerrit-pgm/src/main/java/com/google/gerrit/pgm/ExportReviewNotes.java
@@ -28,7 +28,6 @@ import com.google.gerrit.server.account.AccountCacheImpl;
 import com.google.gerrit.server.account.GroupCacheImpl;
 import com.google.gerrit.server.cache.CachePool;
 import com.google.gerrit.server.config.ApprovalTypesProvider;
-import com.google.gerrit.server.config.AuthConfigModule;
 import com.google.gerrit.server.config.CanonicalWebUrl;
 import com.google.gerrit.server.config.CanonicalWebUrlProvider;
 import com.google.gerrit.server.config.FactoryModule;
@@ -36,6 +35,7 @@ import com.google.gerrit.server.git.CodeReviewNoteCreationException;
 import com.google.gerrit.server.git.CreateCodeReviewNotes;
 import com.google.gerrit.server.git.GitRepositoryManager;
 import com.google.gerrit.server.git.LocalDiskRepositoryManager;
+import com.google.gerrit.server.schema.SchemaVersionCheck;
 import com.google.gwtorm.client.OrmException;
 import com.google.gwtorm.client.SchemaFactory;
 import com.google.inject.AbstractModule;
@@ -91,6 +91,7 @@ public class ExportReviewNotes extends SiteProgram {
     gitInjector = dbInjector.createChildInjector(new AbstractModule() {
       @Override
       protected void configure() {
+        install(SchemaVersionCheck.module());
         bind(ApprovalTypes.class).toProvider(ApprovalTypesProvider.class).in(
             Scopes.SINGLETON);
         bind(String.class).annotatedWith(CanonicalWebUrl.class)
@@ -99,7 +100,6 @@ public class ExportReviewNotes extends SiteProgram {
 
         install(AccountCacheImpl.module());
         install(GroupCacheImpl.module());
-        install(new AuthConfigModule());
         install(new FactoryModule() {
           @Override
           protected void configure() {
diff --git a/gerrit-pgm/src/main/java/com/google/gerrit/pgm/ScanTrackingIds.java b/gerrit-pgm/src/main/java/com/google/gerrit/pgm/ScanTrackingIds.java
index 45f560a006..8bf5f98f70 100644
--- a/gerrit-pgm/src/main/java/com/google/gerrit/pgm/ScanTrackingIds.java
+++ b/gerrit-pgm/src/main/java/com/google/gerrit/pgm/ScanTrackingIds.java
@@ -25,6 +25,7 @@ import com.google.gerrit.reviewdb.ReviewDb;
 import com.google.gerrit.server.ChangeUtil;
 import com.google.gerrit.server.config.TrackingFooters;
 import com.google.gerrit.server.git.GitRepositoryManager;
+import com.google.gerrit.server.schema.SchemaVersionCheck;
 import com.google.gwtorm.client.OrmException;
 import com.google.gwtorm.client.SchemaFactory;
 import com.google.inject.Inject;
@@ -71,7 +72,9 @@ public class ScanTrackingIds extends SiteProgram {
     }
 
     dbInjector = createDbInjector(MULTI_USER);
-    manager.add(dbInjector);
+    manager.add(
+        dbInjector,
+        dbInjector.createChildInjector(SchemaVersionCheck.module()));
     manager.start();
     dbInjector.injectMembers(this);
 
diff --git a/gerrit-server/src/main/java/com/google/gerrit/server/config/AuthConfig.java b/gerrit-server/src/main/java/com/google/gerrit/server/config/AuthConfig.java
index a789546a5f..f61a7c6b97 100644
--- a/gerrit-server/src/main/java/com/google/gerrit/server/config/AuthConfig.java
+++ b/gerrit-server/src/main/java/com/google/gerrit/server/config/AuthConfig.java
@@ -17,7 +17,6 @@ package com.google.gerrit.server.config;
 import com.google.gerrit.common.auth.openid.OpenIdProviderPattern;
 import com.google.gerrit.reviewdb.AccountExternalId;
 import com.google.gerrit.reviewdb.AuthType;
-import com.google.gerrit.reviewdb.SystemConfig;
 import com.google.gwtjsonrpc.server.SignedToken;
 import com.google.gwtjsonrpc.server.XsrfException;
 import com.google.inject.Inject;
@@ -46,7 +45,7 @@ public class AuthConfig {
   private final boolean allowGoogleAccountUpgrade;
 
   @Inject
-  AuthConfig(@GerritServerConfig final Config cfg, final SystemConfig s)
+  AuthConfig(@GerritServerConfig final Config cfg)
       throws XsrfException {
     authType = toType(cfg);
     httpHeader = cfg.getString("auth", null, "httpheader");
diff --git a/gerrit-server/src/main/java/com/google/gerrit/server/config/AuthConfigModule.java b/gerrit-server/src/main/java/com/google/gerrit/server/config/AuthConfigModule.java
index 33ea3fb663..e5d4ba8c31 100644
--- a/gerrit-server/src/main/java/com/google/gerrit/server/config/AuthConfigModule.java
+++ b/gerrit-server/src/main/java/com/google/gerrit/server/config/AuthConfigModule.java
@@ -16,14 +16,12 @@ package com.google.gerrit.server.config;
 
 import static com.google.inject.Scopes.SINGLETON;
 
-import com.google.gerrit.reviewdb.SystemConfig;
 import com.google.inject.AbstractModule;
 
 /** Creates {@link AuthConfig} from {@link GerritServerConfig}. */
 public class AuthConfigModule extends AbstractModule {
   @Override
   protected void configure() {
-    bind(SystemConfig.class).toProvider(SystemConfigProvider.class).in(SINGLETON);
     bind(AuthConfig.class).in(SINGLETON);
   }
 }
diff --git a/gerrit-server/src/main/java/com/google/gerrit/server/config/SystemConfigProvider.java b/gerrit-server/src/main/java/com/google/gerrit/server/schema/SchemaVersionCheck.java
similarity index 62%
rename from gerrit-server/src/main/java/com/google/gerrit/server/config/SystemConfigProvider.java
rename to gerrit-server/src/main/java/com/google/gerrit/server/schema/SchemaVersionCheck.java
index ba3e0fcb7f..9a59567f7e 100644
--- a/gerrit-server/src/main/java/com/google/gerrit/server/config/SystemConfigProvider.java
+++ b/gerrit-server/src/main/java/com/google/gerrit/server/schema/SchemaVersionCheck.java
@@ -12,37 +12,43 @@
 // See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
 // limitations under the License.
 
-package com.google.gerrit.server.config;
+package com.google.gerrit.server.schema;
 
+import com.google.gerrit.lifecycle.LifecycleListener;
+import com.google.gerrit.lifecycle.LifecycleModule;
 import com.google.gerrit.reviewdb.CurrentSchemaVersion;
 import com.google.gerrit.reviewdb.ReviewDb;
-import com.google.gerrit.reviewdb.SystemConfig;
-import com.google.gerrit.server.schema.Current;
-import com.google.gerrit.server.schema.SchemaVersion;
 import com.google.gwtorm.client.OrmException;
 import com.google.gwtorm.client.SchemaFactory;
 import com.google.inject.Inject;
+import com.google.inject.Module;
 import com.google.inject.Provider;
 import com.google.inject.ProvisionException;
 
-import java.util.List;
+/** Validates the current schema version. */
+public class SchemaVersionCheck implements LifecycleListener {
+  public static Module module () {
+    return new LifecycleModule() {
+      @Override
+      protected void configure() {
+        listener().to(SchemaVersionCheck.class);
+      }
+    };
+  }
 
-/** Loads the {@link SystemConfig} from the database. */
-public class SystemConfigProvider implements Provider<SystemConfig> {
   private final SchemaFactory<ReviewDb> schema;
 
   @Current
   private final Provider<SchemaVersion> version;
 
   @Inject
-  public SystemConfigProvider(final SchemaFactory<ReviewDb> schemaFactory,
-      @Current final Provider<SchemaVersion> version) {
+  public SchemaVersionCheck(SchemaFactory<ReviewDb> schemaFactory,
+      @Current Provider<SchemaVersion> version) {
     this.schema = schemaFactory;
     this.version = version;
   }
 
-  @Override
-  public SystemConfig get() {
+  public void start() {
     try {
       final ReviewDb db = schema.open();
       try {
@@ -50,33 +56,25 @@ public class SystemConfigProvider implements Provider<SystemConfig> {
         final int eVer = version.get().getVersionNbr();
 
         if (sVer == null) {
-          throw new OrmException("Schema not yet initialized."
+          throw new ProvisionException("Schema not yet initialized."
               + "  Run init to initialize the schema.");
         }
         if (sVer.versionNbr != eVer) {
-          throw new OrmException("Unsupported schema version "
+          throw new ProvisionException("Unsupported schema version "
               + sVer.versionNbr + "; expected schema version " + eVer
               + ".  Run init to upgrade.");
         }
-
-        final List<SystemConfig> all = db.systemConfig().all().toList();
-        switch (all.size()) {
-          case 1:
-            return all.get(0);
-          case 0:
-            throw new OrmException("system_config table is empty");
-          default:
-            throw new OrmException("system_config must have exactly 1 row;"
-                + " found " + all.size() + " rows instead");
-        }
       } finally {
         db.close();
       }
     } catch (OrmException e) {
-      throw new ProvisionException("Cannot read system_config", e);
+      throw new ProvisionException("Cannot read schema_version", e);
     }
   }
 
+  public void stop() {
+  }
+
   private CurrentSchemaVersion getSchemaVersion(final ReviewDb db) {
     try {
       return db.schemaVersion().get(new CurrentSchemaVersion.Key());
diff --git a/gerrit-server/src/test/java/com/google/gerrit/server/schema/SchemaCreatorTest.java b/gerrit-server/src/test/java/com/google/gerrit/server/schema/SchemaCreatorTest.java
index 90cb0d342c..20e0170a94 100644
--- a/gerrit-server/src/test/java/com/google/gerrit/server/schema/SchemaCreatorTest.java
+++ b/gerrit-server/src/test/java/com/google/gerrit/server/schema/SchemaCreatorTest.java
@@ -68,8 +68,6 @@ public class SchemaCreatorTest extends TestCase {
     //
     db.create();
     db.assertSchemaVersion();
-    final SystemConfig config = db.getSystemConfig();
-    assertNotNull(config);
 
     // By default sitePath is set to the current working directory.
     //
@@ -77,16 +75,7 @@ public class SchemaCreatorTest extends TestCase {
     if (sitePath.getName().equals(".")) {
       sitePath = sitePath.getParentFile();
     }
-    assertEquals(sitePath.getAbsolutePath(), config.sitePath);
-  }
-
-  public void testSubsequentGetReads() throws OrmException {
-    db.create();
-    final SystemConfig exp = db.getSystemConfig();
-    final SystemConfig act = db.getSystemConfig();
-
-    assertNotSame(exp, act);
-    assertEquals(exp.sitePath, act.sitePath);
+    assertEquals(sitePath.getAbsolutePath(), db.getSystemConfig().sitePath);
   }
 
   public void testCreateSchema_ApprovalCategory_CodeReview()
diff --git a/gerrit-server/src/test/java/com/google/gerrit/testutil/InMemoryDatabase.java b/gerrit-server/src/test/java/com/google/gerrit/testutil/InMemoryDatabase.java
index 8326051a97..82dcbea74c 100644
--- a/gerrit-server/src/test/java/com/google/gerrit/testutil/InMemoryDatabase.java
+++ b/gerrit-server/src/test/java/com/google/gerrit/testutil/InMemoryDatabase.java
@@ -22,7 +22,6 @@ import com.google.gerrit.server.GerritPersonIdentProvider;
 import com.google.gerrit.server.config.AllProjectsName;
 import com.google.gerrit.server.config.GerritServerConfig;
 import com.google.gerrit.server.config.SitePath;
-import com.google.gerrit.server.config.SystemConfigProvider;
 import com.google.gerrit.server.git.GitRepositoryManager;
 import com.google.gerrit.server.git.LocalDiskRepositoryManager;
 import com.google.gerrit.server.schema.Current;
@@ -35,7 +34,6 @@ import com.google.gwtorm.jdbc.SimpleDataSource;
 import com.google.inject.AbstractModule;
 import com.google.inject.Guice;
 import com.google.inject.Key;
-import com.google.inject.Provider;
 
 import junit.framework.TestCase;
 
@@ -177,12 +175,13 @@ public class InMemoryDatabase implements SchemaFactory<ReviewDb> {
     }
   }
 
-  public SystemConfig getSystemConfig() {
-    return new SystemConfigProvider(this, new Provider<SchemaVersion>() {
-      public SchemaVersion get() {
-        return schemaVersion;
-      }
-    }).get();
+  public SystemConfig getSystemConfig() throws OrmException {
+    final ReviewDb c = open();
+    try {
+      return c.systemConfig().get(new SystemConfig.Key());
+    } finally {
+      c.close();
+    }
   }
 
   public CurrentSchemaVersion getSchemaVersion() throws OrmException {
diff --git a/gerrit-war/src/main/java/com/google/gerrit/httpd/WebAppInitializer.java b/gerrit-war/src/main/java/com/google/gerrit/httpd/WebAppInitializer.java
index f1ac9454a1..0cbbac46a9 100644
--- a/gerrit-war/src/main/java/com/google/gerrit/httpd/WebAppInitializer.java
+++ b/gerrit-war/src/main/java/com/google/gerrit/httpd/WebAppInitializer.java
@@ -28,6 +28,7 @@ import com.google.gerrit.server.config.SitePath;
 import com.google.gerrit.server.schema.DataSourceProvider;
 import com.google.gerrit.server.schema.DatabaseModule;
 import com.google.gerrit.server.schema.SchemaModule;
+import com.google.gerrit.server.schema.SchemaVersionCheck;
 import com.google.gerrit.sshd.SshModule;
 import com.google.gerrit.sshd.commands.MasterCommandModule;
 import com.google.inject.AbstractModule;
@@ -167,6 +168,7 @@ public class WebAppInitializer extends GuiceServletContextListener {
       modules.add(new GerritServerConfigModule());
     }
     modules.add(new SchemaModule());
+    modules.add(SchemaVersionCheck.module());
     modules.add(new AuthConfigModule());
     return dbInjector.createChildInjector(modules);
   }