diff --git a/fs/reiserfs/ibalance.c b/fs/reiserfs/ibalance.c
index b751eea32e2073..6dcc38f132f5b4 100644
--- a/fs/reiserfs/ibalance.c
+++ b/fs/reiserfs/ibalance.c
@@ -1138,6 +1138,9 @@ int balance_internal(struct tree_balance *tb,
 		       S_new);
 
 		/* S_new is released in unfix_nodes */
+
+		memcpy(new_insert_key_addr, &new_insert_key, KEY_SIZE);
+		insert_ptr[0] = new_insert_ptr;
 	}
 
 	n = B_NR_ITEMS(tbSh);	/*number of items in S[h] */
@@ -1153,8 +1156,5 @@ int balance_internal(struct tree_balance *tb,
 				       insert_ptr);
 	}
 
-	memcpy(new_insert_key_addr, &new_insert_key, KEY_SIZE);
-	insert_ptr[0] = new_insert_ptr;
-
 	return order;
 }