LPIC-1 Devices, Filesystems and FHS Practice Question
Exhibit
--- $ mount -o remount,ro /mnt mount: /mnt: mount point not mounted or bad option. ---
Refer to the exhibit. An administrator attempts to remount /mnt as read-only but receives the error shown. What is the most likely cause?
⚠ Common exam trap
Many candidates confuse the `remount` option (which modifies an existing mount) with the `mount` command (which creates a new mount), leading them to think the error is about directory emptiness or existence rather than the mount point status.
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 /mnt directory is not a mount point
The error 'mount: /mnt is not a mount point' indicates that the administrator attempted to use the `remount` option on a directory that is not currently a mount point. The `mount -o remount` command only works on directories where a filesystem is already mounted; it modifies the mount options of an existing mount, not a regular directory. Since /mnt is not a mount point, the kernel rejects the operation with this specific error.
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 /mnt directory is not a mount point
Why this is correct
The error explicitly says 'mount point not mounted', meaning nothing is mounted there.
- ✗
The /mnt directory is not empty
Why it's wrong here
An empty directory is not required for remount; the mount point must be mounted first.
- ✗
The /mnt directory does not exist
Why it's wrong here
If the directory didn't exist, the error would be different (e.g., 'mount point does not exist').
- ✗
The filesystem is already mounted read-only
Why it's wrong here
If already read-only, the remount would succeed with no change.
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