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
Remounting requires an existing mount point; if /mnt is merely an ordinary directory in the root filesystem, the kernel has no mount entry to modify and rejects the remount with an error. This matches the stem's constraint that the remount command fails.
- ✗
The /mnt directory is not empty
Why it's wrong here
A non-empty mount point does not prevent remounting read-only; the kernel permits remounting regardless of directory contents. It is tempting because mount does fail on a non-empty directory in other contexts, such as mounting over an existing populated path.
- ✗
The /mnt directory does not exist
Why it's wrong here
If /mnt did not exist, mount would report a missing mount point or directory error, not the remount failure shown. It is tempting because a nonexistent path is a common mount failure, and would be correct when mounting a new filesystem to an invalid target.
- ✗
The filesystem is already mounted read-only
Why it's wrong here
If the filesystem were already read-only, the remount command would succeed silently rather than produce an error. It is tempting because it matches the intended end state, and would be correct if the administrator were verifying an existing read-only mount.
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Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This LPIC-1 practice question is part of Courseiva's free LPI 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 LPIC-1 exam.