diff --git a/config.go b/config.go
index 3cb865c..bae2e57 100644
--- a/config.go
+++ b/config.go
@@ -392,6 +392,20 @@ func loadConfig() Config {
 	filesList := strings.Split(getConfigValueString(cfg.Section("MetaSearch").Key("Files"), strings.Join(defaultConfig.MetaSearch.Files, ",")), ",")
 	videoList := strings.Split(getConfigValueString(cfg.Section("MetaSearch").Key("Video"), strings.Join(defaultConfig.MetaSearch.Video, ",")), ",")
 
+	// Load default values for MetaSearch if they are empty
+	if len(textList) == 1 && textList[0] == "" {
+		textList = defaultConfig.MetaSearch.Text
+	}
+	if len(imageList) == 1 && imageList[0] == "" {
+		imageList = defaultConfig.MetaSearch.Image
+	}
+	if len(filesList) == 1 && filesList[0] == "" {
+		filesList = defaultConfig.MetaSearch.Files
+	}
+	if len(videoList) == 1 && videoList[0] == "" {
+		videoList = defaultConfig.MetaSearch.Video
+	}
+
 	// Indexing
 	concurrentStandardCrawlers := getConfigValue(cfg.Section("Indexer").Key("ConcurrentStandardCrawlers"), defaultConfig.ConcurrentStandardCrawlers, strconv.Atoi)
 	concurrentChromeCrawlers := getConfigValue(cfg.Section("Indexer").Key("ConcurrentChromeCrawlers"), defaultConfig.ConcurrentChromeCrawlers, strconv.Atoi)
diff --git a/images.go b/images.go
index ca79dbe..87dceb5 100755
--- a/images.go
+++ b/images.go
@@ -135,10 +135,11 @@ func fetchImageResults(query, safe, lang string, page int, synchronous bool, thu
 		return results
 	}
 
-	if len(imageSearchEngines) == 0 {
-		printWarn("No image search engines configured in imageSearchEngines")
-		return nil
-	}
+	// This will not happen as during config load there is check to have at least something in search engine list
+	// if len(imageSearchEngines) == 0 {
+	// 	printWarn("No image search engines configured in imageSearchEngines")
+	// 	return nil
+	// }
 
 	engineCount := len(imageSearchEngines)
 
diff --git a/video.go b/video.go
index d281d55..2c8abe4 100644
--- a/video.go
+++ b/video.go
@@ -12,6 +12,7 @@ import (
 const retryDuration = 12 * time.Hour // Retry duration for unresponding piped instances
 
 var (
+	preferredInstance string
 	pipedInstances    = []string{}
 	disabledInstances = make(map[string]bool)
 	mu                sync.Mutex
@@ -19,6 +20,8 @@ var (
 
 func initPipedInstances() {
 	pipedInstances = config.MetaSearch.Video
+	go checkDisabledInstancesPeriodically()
+	go selectInitialPipedInstance()
 }
 
 // VideoAPIResponse matches the structure of the JSON response from the Piped API
@@ -67,10 +70,6 @@ func formatDuration(seconds int) string {
 	return fmt.Sprintf("%02d:%02d", minutes, seconds)
 }
 
-func init() {
-	go checkDisabledInstancesPeriodically()
-}
-
 func checkDisabledInstancesPeriodically() {
 	checkAndReactivateInstances() // Initial immediate check
 	ticker := time.NewTicker(retryDuration)
@@ -81,6 +80,28 @@ func checkDisabledInstancesPeriodically() {
 	}
 }
 
+func selectInitialPipedInstance() {
+	for _, inst := range pipedInstances {
+		if testInstanceAvailability(inst) {
+			mu.Lock()
+			preferredInstance = inst
+			mu.Unlock()
+			printInfo("Selected preferred piped instance: %s", inst)
+			return
+		}
+	}
+	printWarn("No available piped instances found during initial scan.")
+}
+
+func disableInstance(inst string) {
+	mu.Lock()
+	defer mu.Unlock()
+	disabledInstances[inst] = true
+	if preferredInstance == inst {
+		preferredInstance = ""
+	}
+}
+
 func checkAndReactivateInstances() {
 	mu.Lock()
 	defer mu.Unlock()
@@ -107,32 +128,55 @@ func testInstanceAvailability(instance string) bool {
 }
 
 func makeHTMLRequest(query, safe, lang string, page int) (*VideoAPIResponse, error) {
+	mu.Lock()
+	instance := preferredInstance
+	mu.Unlock()
+
+	if instance != "" && !disabledInstances[instance] {
+		url := fmt.Sprintf("https://%s/search?q=%s&filter=all&safe=%s&lang=%s&page=%d",
+			instance, url.QueryEscape(query), safe, lang, page)
+		resp, err := http.Get(url)
+		if err == nil && resp.StatusCode == http.StatusOK {
+			defer resp.Body.Close()
+			var apiResp VideoAPIResponse
+			if err := json.NewDecoder(resp.Body).Decode(&apiResp); err == nil {
+				return &apiResp, nil
+			}
+		}
+		printWarn("Preferred instance %s failed, falling back to other instances", instance)
+		disableInstance(instance)
+	}
+
+	// Fallback loop
 	var lastError error
 	mu.Lock()
 	defer mu.Unlock()
-
-	for _, instance := range pipedInstances {
-		if disabledInstances[instance] {
-			continue // Skip this instance because it's still disabled
+	for _, inst := range pipedInstances {
+		if disabledInstances[inst] {
+			continue
 		}
-
-		url := fmt.Sprintf("https://%s/search?q=%s&filter=all&safe=%s&lang=%s&page=%d", instance, url.QueryEscape(query), safe, lang, page)
+		url := fmt.Sprintf("https://%s/search?q=%s&filter=all&safe=%s&lang=%s&page=%d",
+			inst, url.QueryEscape(query), safe, lang, page)
 		resp, err := http.Get(url)
 		if err != nil || resp.StatusCode != http.StatusOK {
-			printInfo("Disabling instance %s due to error or status code: %v", instance, err)
-			disabledInstances[instance] = true
-			lastError = fmt.Errorf("error making request to %s: %w", instance, err)
+			printInfo("Disabling instance %s due to error or status code: %v", inst, err)
+			disabledInstances[inst] = true
+			lastError = fmt.Errorf("error from %s: %w", inst, err)
 			continue
 		}
 
 		defer resp.Body.Close()
 		var apiResp VideoAPIResponse
 		if err := json.NewDecoder(resp.Body).Decode(&apiResp); err != nil {
-			lastError = fmt.Errorf("error decoding response from %s: %w", instance, err)
+			lastError = fmt.Errorf("decode error from %s: %w", inst, err)
 			continue
 		}
+
+		// Store new preferred instance
+		preferredInstance = inst
 		return &apiResp, nil
 	}
+
 	return nil, fmt.Errorf("all instances failed, last error: %v", lastError)
 }