XK0-006 Services and User Management Practice Question
A Linux administrator is troubleshooting a systemd service that fails to start with the error 'Failed to start myservice.service: Unit myservice.service not found.' The service file exists at /etc/systemd/system/myservice.service and has correct permissions. Which command should the administrator run to resolve the issue?
⚠ Common exam trap
The trap here is assuming that placing a unit file in the correct directory is sufficient, or confusing daemon-reload with daemon-reexec.
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
systemctl daemon-reload
When a new unit file is added to /etc/systemd/system/, systemd does not automatically detect it. The administrator must run 'systemctl daemon-reload' to reload the systemd manager configuration. This command scans for new or changed unit files and makes them available for starting and enabling.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
systemctl reexec myservice.service
Why it's wrong here
systemctl reexec is not a valid subcommand for managing services; it is used to reexecute the systemd manager itself (systemctl daemon-reexec). It does not load new unit files. The correct action is to reload the systemd manager configuration.
- ✗
systemctl start myservice.service
Why it's wrong here
Starting the service directly will fail with the same 'Unit not found' error because systemd has not yet loaded the new unit file. The administrator must first reload the daemon to make systemd recognize the new service.
- ✗
systemctl enable myservice.service
Why it's wrong here
Enabling a service creates symlinks for automatic startup at boot, but it does not make systemd aware of a newly created unit file. If the unit is not loaded, enable will also fail. The immediate need is to reload the systemd manager configuration.
- ✓
systemctl daemon-reload
Why this is correct
After creating or modifying a unit file, systemd must reload its configuration. The daemon-reload command rescans unit files and rebuilds the dependency tree, making the new service known to systemd. Without this, systemctl start will fail with 'Unit not found'.
Visual reference
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Related to this question
Learn chapter
Installing Linux and Package Management
Key term
systemctl
systemctl is the command-line tool used to inspect, start, stop, enable, or disable services managed by the systemd init system in Linux.
Key term
Service
A service is a software component or system that performs a specific function and is available to be used by other programs or users over a network.
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JA
Written and reviewed by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
Last reviewed September 2026 · checked against the official CompTIA exam blueprint
This XK0-006 practice question is part of Courseiva's free CompTIA certification practice question bank. Courseiva provides original exam-style practice questions with explanations, topic-based practice, mock exams, readiness tracking, and study analytics to help learners prepare for the XK0-006 exam.