LPIC-1 System Architecture Practice Question
Exhibit
Refer to the exhibit. ``` NAME MAJ:MIN RM SIZE RO TYPE MOUNTPOINT sda 8:0 0 238.5G 0 disk ├─sda1 8:1 0 512M 0 part /boot ├─sda2 8:2 0 20G 0 part / ├─sda3 8:3 0 4G 0 part [SWAP] └─sda4 8:4 0 214G 0 part /home sdb 8:16 0 120G 0 disk ```
The system administrator wants to use the entire sdb disk as a single partition. Which command will partition sdb with a single partition occupying the whole disk?
⚠ Common exam trap
Candidates often think fdisk with default options creates a full-disk partition, but fdisk defaults to a small partition size unless the user explicitly specifies the end sector, leading to an incomplete partition.
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
✓
parted /dev/sdb mklabel gpt && parted /dev/sdb mkpart primary 0% 100%
It uses parted to first create a GPT partition table on /dev/sdb (mklabel gpt) and then creates a single primary partition spanning the entire disk (mkpart primary 0% 100%). This is the proper method to partition the whole disk as one partition, ensuring the disk has a valid partition table and a defined partition that can later be formatted.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
fdisk /dev/sdb, then create a new primary partition accepting all defaults
Why it's wrong here
fdisk requires interactive commands; not the quickest single command.
- ✗
dd if=/dev/zero of=/dev/sdb bs=1M count=1
Why it's wrong here
Zeroes the first megabyte, does not create a partition.
- ✗
mkfs.ext4 /dev/sdb
Why it's wrong here
Attempts to create filesystem directly on raw disk, not a partition.
- ✓
parted /dev/sdb mklabel gpt && parted /dev/sdb mkpart primary 0% 100%
Why this is correct
Correctly creates a GPT label and a partition spanning the entire disk.
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