EX200 Create and configure file systems Practice Question
In /etc/fstab, which values in the dump and pass fields enable automatic file system checking at boot?
⚠ Common exam trap
Red Hat often tests the misconception that `dump=1` is required for boot-time file system checks, but the `dump` field is unrelated to fsck; the trap is confusing the `dump` field with the `pass` field's role in enabling automatic checks.
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
✓
dump=0, pass=1
The `pass` field in `/etc/fstab` controls the order of file system checks at boot. A value of 1 means the root file system is checked first, and a value of 2 or higher means other file systems are checked after root. The `dump` field is for backup utility (dump) and is not related to boot-time checking; it must be 0 to disable dump. Thus, `dump=0, pass=1` enables automatic file system checking (fsck) at boot for the root file system.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
dump=1, pass=0
Why it's wrong here
The dump field's value of 1 marks the filesystem for backup by the legacy dump(8) utility, but the pass field's zero is decisive: it tells fsck(8) to skip this filesystem entirely during boot, so no automatic consistency check runs. Since the question asks about enabling the check, this pair fails regardless of the dump flag. Modern systems also omit dump backups, so this is doubly unsuitable.
- ✗
dump=0, pass=0
Why it's wrong here
Here both fields are zero, which means the filesystem is neither marked for dump backup nor passed to fsck at boot. The pass field must be a non-zero integer (typically 1 for the root filesystem and 2 for others) for a boot-time check to happen, so this setting completely disables automatic checking. It is incorrect because it provides no fsck scheduling at all.
- ✓
dump=0, pass=1
Why this is correct
This is the correct setting. A dump value of 0 is the standard choice on modern Linux systems, as dump(8) is obsolete and almost never used. The pass value of 1 tells fsck(8) to check this filesystem at boot, and 1 is specifically used for the root filesystem; other filesystems use pass=2 to run after the root check completes.
- ✗
dump=1, pass=1
Why it's wrong here
Setting pass=1 does enable a boot-time fsck for a filesystem, but pairing it with dump=1 is incorrect because the dump utility would then attempt to back up this filesystem, a behavior that is deprecated and not part of the standard fstab configuration. More importantly, for the root filesystem only pass=1 is used, but using dump=1 is neither required nor recommended; dump should remain 0 to avoid unwanted backup runs and to match the clean, expected configuration. The question asks specifically for the pair that enables the check, and the conventional pairing is dump=0, pass=1.
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