The CompTIA Linux+ is a certification program designed for people who’ve heard of Linux but can’t yet figure out what it is. Still, one would imagine that people running CompTIA’s Web site should be able to answer at least some of the sample exam questions posted on their site. At the end of the practice exam there is a link that says “Click here for the answers“. But if you click on that link, you will find none – just a repeat of the same practice questions (see screenshots below).

Thus, CompTIA scored exactly 0% on its own Linux+ exam. I am not entirely sure about the minimum passing score, but I would think it is more than 0% (unless CompTIA decided to let its standards really slide). This may seem an embarrassing flop on CompTIA’s part, but in reality this is business as usual for these guys. Once you read through some of the questions from their past exams, you will quickly realize that people who wrote them are not only novice Linux users, but they appear to be struggling with the English language as well.

I think one of the better examples of silly questions often found on Linux+ exams comes from the same ten practice questions posted on CompTIA’s site:

Question 5

After having worked for several months, a PC fails to boot and indicates that the HDD has bad sectors. Which is the first action to take?

A. Reboot the system to remove the message.
B. Run the manufacturer's Diagnostic Utility.
C. Replace the defective HDD and reload the system.
D. Run Scandisk and Defrag to repair the damaged sectors.

Of course, none of the answers are correct: rebooting the system won’t fix bad disk sectors; “manufacturer’s Diagnostic Utility” exists only in CompTIA’s inflamed imagination; starting the troubleshooting process by replacing the disk is like sawing your arm off to cure a broken nail; while scandisk and defrag are Windows utilities. And, since CompTIA could not be bothered to post answers to the practice questions, we will never find out which one of these four stupid solutions CompTIA recommends to novice sysadmins.