--- includes/bootstrap.inc.orig	2005-04-08 18:00:17.000000000 -0500
+++ includes/bootstrap.inc	2005-04-08 18:02:11.000000000 -0500
@@ -167,8 +167,10 @@ function variable_get($name, $default) {
 function variable_set($name, $value) {
   global $conf;
 
-  db_query("DELETE FROM {variable} WHERE name = '%s'", $name);
-  db_query("INSERT INTO {variable} (name, value) VALUES ('%s', '%s')", $name, serialize($value));
+  db_query("UPDATE {variable} SET value = '%s' WHERE name = '%s'", serialize($value), $name);
+  if (!db_affected_rows()) {
+    @db_query("INSERT INTO {variable} (name, value) VALUES ('%s', '%s')", $name, serialize($value));
+  }
   cache_clear_all('variables');
 
   $conf[$name] = $value;