LPIC-1 Devices, Filesystems and FHS Practice Question
Which TWO options in /etc/fstab affect whether a filesystem is mounted at boot? (Choose two.)
⚠ Common exam trap
Candidates often confuse 'auto' with 'defaults' or think 'ro' affects boot mounting, when in fact only 'auto' and 'noauto' directly control automatic mounting at boot.
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
✓
auto
Option C (auto) is correct because it explicitly marks the filesystem as mountable by the mount -a command, which is what the boot process runs to mount all entries in /etc/fstab, so an entry with auto will be mounted at boot. Option E (noauto) is correct because it does the opposite: it tells mount -a to skip that entry, meaning the filesystem will not be mounted automatically at boot and must be mounted manually. The other options do not control boot-time mounting: A (user) permits non-root users to mount the filesystem, B (defaults) is a shorthand for rw,suid,dev,exec,auto,nouser,async (it includes auto but is a general option bundle, not the specific boot-mount toggle), and D (ro) only sets the filesystem read-only, which is unrelated to whether it is mounted at boot.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
user
Why it's wrong here
The user option permits an unprivileged account to mount the filesystem, but boot mounting is governed by the noauto option and the pass field. It is tempting because it changes mount behaviour, and would be correct for removable media a desktop user mounts on demand.
- ✗
defaults
Why it's wrong here
The defaults option expands to rw,suid,dev,exec,auto,nouser,async, so it enables automatic mounting rather than preventing it; the question asks which options affect whether mounting occurs. It is tempting as the common baseline entry, and would be correct when no special mount behaviour is required.
- ✓
auto
Why this is correct
The auto option marks the filesystem for mounting by mount -a, which the boot process invokes, so the entry is mounted at startup. Omitting it defaults to auto, but specifying it explicitly confirms boot mounting.
- ✗
ro
Why it's wrong here
The ro option controls write permission on the mounted filesystem, not whether systemd or mount mounts it during boot. It is tempting because it appears in the same options field, and would be the correct choice if the question asked how to protect a recovery partition from modification.
- ✓
noauto
Why this is correct
The `noauto` mount option prevents a filesystem from being mounted automatically at boot, satisfying the stem's requirement. Without it, entries in /etc/fstab are mounted during system start-up by systemd or the init scripts. Adding `noauto` excludes that entry from automatic mounting, so it is only mounted when explicitly requested.
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Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
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