diff --git a/src/addrdb.cpp b/src/addrdb.cpp
index 8f77ed35ce5..0922c1c432b 100644
--- a/src/addrdb.cpp
+++ b/src/addrdb.cpp
@@ -109,15 +109,15 @@ template <typename Data>
 bool DeserializeFileDB(const fs::path& path, Data& data)
 {
     // open input file, and associate with CAutoFile
-    FILE *file = fsbridge::fopen(path, "rb");
+    FILE* file = fsbridge::fopen(path, "rb");
     CAutoFile filein(file, SER_DISK, CLIENT_VERSION);
-    if (filein.IsNull())
-        return error("%s: Failed to open file %s", __func__, path.string());
-
+    if (filein.IsNull()) {
+        LogPrintf("Missing or invalid file %s\n", path.string());
+        return false;
+    }
     return DeserializeDB(filein, data);
 }
-
-}
+} // namespace
 
 CBanDB::CBanDB(fs::path ban_list_path) : m_ban_list_path(std::move(ban_list_path))
 {
diff --git a/src/banman.cpp b/src/banman.cpp
index 49bf6c43dce..3fe561ad018 100644
--- a/src/banman.cpp
+++ b/src/banman.cpp
@@ -28,7 +28,7 @@ BanMan::BanMan(fs::path ban_file, CClientUIInterface* client_interface, int64_t
         LogPrint(BCLog::NET, "Loaded %d banned node ips/subnets from banlist.dat  %dms\n",
             m_banned.size(), GetTimeMillis() - n_start);
     } else {
-        LogPrintf("Invalid or missing banlist.dat; recreating\n");
+        LogPrintf("Recreating banlist.dat\n");
         SetBannedSetDirty(true); // force write
         DumpBanlist();
     }
diff --git a/src/net.cpp b/src/net.cpp
index 533815b7552..d9571e7036d 100644
--- a/src/net.cpp
+++ b/src/net.cpp
@@ -2389,7 +2389,7 @@ bool CConnman::Start(CScheduler& scheduler, const Options& connOptions)
             LogPrintf("Loaded %i addresses from peers.dat  %dms\n", addrman.size(), GetTimeMillis() - nStart);
         else {
             addrman.Clear(); // Addrman can be in an inconsistent state after failure, reset it
-            LogPrintf("Invalid or missing peers.dat; recreating\n");
+            LogPrintf("Recreating peers.dat\n");
             DumpAddresses();
         }
     }