diff --git a/scripts/basic/fixdep.c b/scripts/basic/fixdep.c
index 44e887cff49b..2328f9a641da 100644
--- a/scripts/basic/fixdep.c
+++ b/scripts/basic/fixdep.c
@@ -105,25 +105,6 @@ static void usage(void)
 	exit(1);
 }
 
-/*
- * In the intended usage of this program, the stdout is redirected to .*.cmd
- * files. The return value of printf() must be checked to catch any error,
- * e.g. "No space left on device".
- */
-static void xprintf(const char *format, ...)
-{
-	va_list ap;
-	int ret;
-
-	va_start(ap, format);
-	ret = vprintf(format, ap);
-	if (ret < 0) {
-		perror("fixdep");
-		exit(1);
-	}
-	va_end(ap);
-}
-
 struct item {
 	struct item	*next;
 	unsigned int	len;
@@ -189,7 +170,7 @@ static void use_config(const char *m, int slen)
 
 	define_config(m, slen, hash);
 	/* Print out a dependency path from a symbol name. */
-	xprintf("    $(wildcard include/config/%.*s) \\\n", slen, m);
+	printf("    $(wildcard include/config/%.*s) \\\n", slen, m);
 }
 
 /* test if s ends in sub */
@@ -318,13 +299,13 @@ static void parse_dep_file(char *m, const char *target)
 				 */
 				if (!saw_any_target) {
 					saw_any_target = 1;
-					xprintf("source_%s := %s\n\n",
-						target, m);
-					xprintf("deps_%s := \\\n", target);
+					printf("source_%s := %s\n\n",
+					       target, m);
+					printf("deps_%s := \\\n", target);
 				}
 				is_first_dep = 0;
 			} else {
-				xprintf("  %s \\\n", m);
+				printf("  %s \\\n", m);
 			}
 
 			buf = read_file(m);
@@ -347,8 +328,8 @@ static void parse_dep_file(char *m, const char *target)
 		exit(1);
 	}
 
-	xprintf("\n%s: $(deps_%s)\n\n", target, target);
-	xprintf("$(deps_%s):\n", target);
+	printf("\n%s: $(deps_%s)\n\n", target, target);
+	printf("$(deps_%s):\n", target);
 }
 
 int main(int argc, char *argv[])
@@ -363,11 +344,22 @@ int main(int argc, char *argv[])
 	target = argv[2];
 	cmdline = argv[3];
 
-	xprintf("cmd_%s := %s\n\n", target, cmdline);
+	printf("cmd_%s := %s\n\n", target, cmdline);
 
 	buf = read_file(depfile);
 	parse_dep_file(buf, target);
 	free(buf);
 
+	fflush(stdout);
+
+	/*
+	 * In the intended usage, the stdout is redirected to .*.cmd files.
+	 * Call ferror() to catch errors such as "No space left on device".
+	 */
+	if (ferror(stdout)) {
+		fprintf(stderr, "fixdep: not all data was written to the output\n");
+		exit(1);
+	}
+
 	return 0;
 }