diff --git a/scripts/basic/fixdep.c b/scripts/basic/fixdep.c
index facbd603adf6..9ba47b0a47b9 100644
--- a/scripts/basic/fixdep.c
+++ b/scripts/basic/fixdep.c
@@ -99,6 +99,7 @@
 #include <unistd.h>
 #include <fcntl.h>
 #include <string.h>
+#include <stdarg.h>
 #include <stdlib.h>
 #include <stdio.h>
 #include <ctype.h>
@@ -109,6 +110,36 @@ 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() and putchar() 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);
+}
+
+static void xputchar(int c)
+{
+	int ret;
+
+	ret = putchar(c);
+	if (ret == EOF) {
+		perror("fixdep");
+		exit(1);
+	}
+}
+
 /*
  * Print out a dependency path from a symbol name
  */
@@ -116,7 +147,7 @@ static void print_dep(const char *m, int slen, const char *dir)
 {
 	int c, prev_c = '/', i;
 
-	printf("    $(wildcard %s/", dir);
+	xprintf("    $(wildcard %s/", dir);
 	for (i = 0; i < slen; i++) {
 		c = m[i];
 		if (c == '_')
@@ -124,10 +155,10 @@ static void print_dep(const char *m, int slen, const char *dir)
 		else
 			c = tolower(c);
 		if (c != '/' || prev_c != '/')
-			putchar(c);
+			xputchar(c);
 		prev_c = c;
 	}
-	printf(".h) \\\n");
+	xprintf(".h) \\\n");
 }
 
 struct item {
@@ -324,13 +355,13 @@ static void parse_dep_file(char *m, const char *target)
 				 */
 				if (!saw_any_target) {
 					saw_any_target = 1;
-					printf("source_%s := %s\n\n",
-					       target, m);
-					printf("deps_%s := \\\n", target);
+					xprintf("source_%s := %s\n\n",
+						target, m);
+					xprintf("deps_%s := \\\n", target);
 				}
 				is_first_dep = 0;
 			} else {
-				printf("  %s \\\n", m);
+				xprintf("  %s \\\n", m);
 			}
 
 			buf = read_file(m);
@@ -353,8 +384,8 @@ static void parse_dep_file(char *m, const char *target)
 		exit(1);
 	}
 
-	printf("\n%s: $(deps_%s)\n\n", target, target);
-	printf("$(deps_%s):\n", target);
+	xprintf("\n%s: $(deps_%s)\n\n", target, target);
+	xprintf("$(deps_%s):\n", target);
 }
 
 int main(int argc, char *argv[])
@@ -369,7 +400,7 @@ int main(int argc, char *argv[])
 	target = argv[2];
 	cmdline = argv[3];
 
-	printf("cmd_%s := %s\n\n", target, cmdline);
+	xprintf("cmd_%s := %s\n\n", target, cmdline);
 
 	buf = read_file(depfile);
 	parse_dep_file(buf, target);