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Comptia-Linux+ Troubleshooting


Master Comptia-Linux+ Troubleshooting with our interactive study cards designed for effective learning. These flashcards use proven spaced repetition techniques to help you memorize key concepts, definitions, and facts. Perfect for students, professionals, and lifelong learners seeking to improve knowledge retention and ace exams through active recall practice.


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What is the first step in Linux troubleshooting?

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Answer:

Identify the problem by gathering information and understanding symptoms

What command shows system error messages?

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Answer:

dmesg or journalctl for systemd systems

Where are system log files typically located?

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Answer:

/var/log/ directory

What is the most important system log file?

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Answer:

/var/log/syslog or /var/log/messages depending on distribution

What log file contains authentication attempts?

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Answer:

/var/log/auth.log or /var/log/secure

What command views systemd journal logs?

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Answer:

journalctl

How do you view logs for a specific service?

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Answer:

journalctl -u servicename

How do you follow logs in real-time?

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Answer:

tail -f /var/log/logfile or journalctl -f

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What command checks disk space issues?

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Answer:

df -h to show disk usage by filesystem

What command finds large files consuming space?

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Answer:

du -sh * or find / -type f -size +100M

What does "No space left on device" error indicate?

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Answer:

Disk is full or inode limit reached

How do you check inode usage?

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Answer:

df -i

What command shows memory usage details?

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Answer:

free -h or cat /proc/meminfo

What indicates a memory issue?

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Answer:

High swap usage or OOM (Out of Memory) killer messages

What is the OOM killer?

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Answer:

Kernel process that terminates processes when system runs out of memory

What command shows CPU usage by process?

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Answer:

top or htop

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What indicates high CPU usage?

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Answer:

Load average significantly higher than number of CPU cores

What is a zombie process?

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Answer:

Terminated process that hasn't been cleaned up by parent

How do you identify zombie processes?

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Answer:

ps aux | grep Z or look for <defunct> in process list

What command tests network connectivity?

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Answer:

ping hostname or IP address

What command shows network interface configuration?

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Answer:

ip addr show or ifconfig

What command tests DNS resolution?

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Answer:

nslookup domain or dig domain

What command shows routing table?

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Answer:

ip route show or route -n

What command traces network path to destination?

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Answer:

traceroute hostname or tracepath hostname

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What indicates network interface is down?

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Answer:

Interface shows "DOWN" in ip link show output

How do you bring network interface up?

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Answer:

ip link set interfacename up or ifup interfacename

What command checks listening ports and connections?

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Answer:

netstat -tulpn or ss -tulpn

What does "Connection refused" error mean?

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Answer:

Service is not running on target port or firewall blocking

What does "No route to host" error mean?

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Answer:

Network routing issue or firewall blocking at network level

What command checks if service is running?

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Answer:

systemctl status servicename or ps aux | grep servicename

What are common reasons a service fails to start?

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Answer:

Configuration errors missing dependencies or port conflicts

Where do you check service startup errors?

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Answer:

systemctl status servicename or journalctl -xe

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How do you test service configuration syntax?

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Answer:

Many services have configtest option or service-specific validation commands

What command shows open files by process?

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Answer:

lsof or lsof -p PID

What command shows which process is using a port?

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Answer:

lsof -i :portnumber or netstat -tulpn | grep portnumber

What indicates filesystem corruption?

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Answer:

Input/output errors or fsck errors during boot

How do you check filesystem for errors?

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Answer:

fsck /dev/devicename (filesystem must be unmounted)

What is single-user mode used for?

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Answer:

Troubleshooting and recovery with minimal services running

How do you boot into single-user mode?

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Answer:

Add "single" or "1" to kernel parameters at boot

What is rescue mode?

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Answer:

Minimal environment for system recovery similar to single-user mode

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What command shows boot messages?

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Answer:

dmesg or journalctl -b

What indicates hardware failure?

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Answer:

Errors in dmesg about device failures or SMART errors

What command checks disk health?

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Answer:

smartctl -a /dev/devicename (requires smartmontools)

How do you check for failed systemd units?

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Answer:

systemctl --failed

What indicates permission problems?

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Answer:

Permission denied errors in logs or command output

How do you debug permission issues?

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Answer:

Check file ownership with ls -l and verify user group memberships

What command shows SELinux denials?

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Answer:

ausearch -m avc or grep AVC /var/log/audit/audit.log

How do you temporarily disable SELinux for testing?

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Answer:

setenforce 0 (sets to permissive mode)

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What indicates library dependency issues?

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Answer:

Library not found or "cannot open shared object file" errors

How do you find library dependencies?

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Answer:

ldd /path/to/binary

What command updates library cache?

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Answer:

ldconfig

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