XK0-006 Troubleshooting Practice Question
A user reports that they are unable to write to a USB drive mounted at /mnt/usb. The administrator checks the mount options and sees that the drive is mounted read-only. Which command should the administrator use to remount the filesystem as read-write without unmounting it?
⚠ Common exam trap
The trap here is thinking that you must unmount to change mount options, or that specifying the device instead of the mount point is sufficient for remounting.
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
✓
mount -o remount,rw /mnt/usb
The administrator needs to change the mount options of a mounted filesystem from read-only to read-write without unmounting. The mount command with the remount option allows this. Specifying -o remount,rw along with the mount point performs the remount in place. This is efficient and avoids disruption to processes using the filesystem.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
mount -o remount,rw /mnt/usb
Why this is correct
mount -o remount,rw /mnt/usb remounts the filesystem at /mnt/usb with the read-write option, without unmounting. This is the standard way to change mount options on a live filesystem, assuming the underlying device supports it and there are no errors.
- ✗
mount -o rw,remount /dev/sdb1
Why it's wrong here
This command attempts to remount the device /dev/sdb1 with read-write options but does not specify the mount point. The mount command requires either the mount point or the device, but when remounting, the mount point is typically used to identify the existing mount. Using only the device may not work as expected.
- ✗
fsck -y /dev/sdb1 && mount -o remount,rw /mnt/usb
Why it's wrong here
Running fsck on a mounted filesystem is unsafe and can cause data corruption. fsck should only be run on unmounted filesystems. Even if it were safe, it does not directly change the mount options; the remount part is correct, but the fsck step is unnecessary and harmful here.
- ✗
umount /mnt/usb && mount -o rw /dev/sdb1 /mnt/usb
Why it's wrong here
This command sequence unmounts and then remounts the filesystem. While it would achieve read-write access, it requires unmounting, which may fail if the filesystem is busy. The question specifies without unmounting, so this approach is not appropriate.
Go deeper
Related to this question
Learn chapter
User and Group Administration
Key term
Mount
Mounting is the process of making a file system or storage device accessible to a computer's operating system by attaching it to a specific directory in the existing directory tree.
Key term
User
A user is any person, system, or device that interacts with an IT service, resource, or identity system, typically authenticated through credentials and authorized to perform specific actions.
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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
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