LPIC-1 GNU and Unix Commands Practice Question
A junior administrator runs `ps aux` and sees a process owned by user 'deploy' with STAT code 'T'. The process is a long-running data migration script. The administrator wants to know what this status means and what will happen if no action is taken. Which statement correctly describes the process state?
⚠ Common exam trap
Test-takers frequently confuse the stopped state 'T' with the zombie state 'Z' or the uninterruptible sleep state 'D', because all three indicate a process that is not actively running.
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
✓
The process is stopped (suspended) and will not run until it receives SIGCONT or is resumed.
The STAT column of `ps` encodes process state. Uppercase 'T' means the process has been stopped by a job-control signal (SIGSTOP, SIGTSTP, or SIGTTIN/SIGTTOU) and is not running. To resume it, send SIGCONT or use shell job control. Without intervention, a stopped process makes no progress, which can stall a migration indefinitely.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
The process is in an uninterruptible sleep, usually waiting for I/O, and cannot be killed until the I/O completes.
Why it's wrong here
Uninterruptible sleep is represented by STAT code 'D', not 'T'. A 'D' state process is typically blocked on disk or network I/O and ignores signals until the operation finishes. The migration script in the scenario shows 'T', so it is stopped by job control rather than blocked on I/O.
- ✓
The process is stopped (suspended) and will not run until it receives SIGCONT or is resumed.
Why this is correct
In `ps` output, the STAT code 'T' indicates the process is stopped, typically by a job control signal such as SIGSTOP or SIGTSTP. It remains in memory but is not scheduled for execution. The migration script will not make progress until it is resumed with SIGCONT (e.g., `kill -CONT <pid>`) or brought to the foreground with `fg` if it is a shell job.
- ✗
The process is a zombie and its parent has not yet reaped it, so it consumes no CPU but remains in the process table.
Why it's wrong here
A zombie process is shown with STAT code 'Z', not 'T'. Zombies have terminated but their exit status has not been collected by the parent. They consume a process table slot but no CPU or memory. The scenario explicitly shows 'T', so this is not a zombie; the process is still alive and merely stopped.
- ✗
The process is being traced by a debugger and is currently paused at a breakpoint.
Why it's wrong here
When a process is traced by a debugger such as gdb and stopped at a breakpoint, `ps` may show STAT code 't' (lowercase) in some implementations, but the scenario explicitly shows uppercase 'T', which denotes a job-control stop. Debugger tracing is not indicated by the uppercase 'T' code, and no debugger is mentioned in the scenario.
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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 LPI exam blueprint
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