diff --git a/base/loading.jl b/base/loading.jl
index f10ed3907d17c..4f7249e693d8b 100644
--- a/base/loading.jl
+++ b/base/loading.jl
@@ -1935,9 +1935,10 @@ end
                 dep = staledeps[i]
                 dep isa Module && continue
                 modpath, modkey, modbuild_id, modcachepath, modstaledeps, modocachepath = dep::Tuple{String, PkgId, UInt128, String, Vector{Any}, Union{Nothing, String}}
-                dep = get(loaded_precompiles, modkey => modbuild_id, nothing)
-                if dep === nothing
+                if stalecheck
                     dep = maybe_root_module(modkey)
+                else
+                    dep = get(loaded_precompiles, modkey => modbuild_id, nothing)
                 end
                 while true
                     if dep isa Module