diff --git a/src/or/control.c b/src/or/control.c
index 8e0c1aeb62..a25e0806d0 100644
--- a/src/or/control.c
+++ b/src/or/control.c
@@ -375,8 +375,9 @@ handle_control_saveconf(connection_t *conn, uint16_t len,
   if (save_current_config()<0) {
     send_control_error(conn, ERR_INTERNAL,
                        "Unable to write configuration to disk.");
+  } else {
+    send_control_done(conn);
   }
-  send_control_done(conn);
   return 0;
 }