117-101 · Question #225
Which of the following commands will load a kernel module along with any required dependency modules?
The correct answer is C. modprobe. See the full explanation below for the reasoning.
Question
Options
- Adepmod
- Binsmod
- Cmodprobe
- Dmodule_install
- Eloadmod
How the community answered
(62 responses)- A15% (9)
- B5% (3)
- C73% (45)
- D2% (1)
- E6% (4)
Community Discussion
6
Anjali D.May 20, 2026The answer is C, modprobe. Unlike insmod, which loads a single module and fails if dependencies are missing, modprobe automatically resolves and loads any required dependency modules first, making it the right tool when you need the full dependency chain handled for you.
Ola B.May 16, 2026modprobe is the right call here because unlike insmod, it reads the module dependency map that depmod builds and pulls in everything the target module needs before loading it. Spin up a Linux VM, run modprobe on something like bluetooth and then check lsmod to see all the dependent modules that got loaded alongside it.
Anjali D.May 17, 2026Ola nailed the core distinction, though it is worth adding that modprobe also handles module removal more gracefully with the -r flag, since it will unload dependencies that are no longer needed rather than leaving orphaned modules the way rmmod does.
Lena V.Jun 15, 2026I almost went with B because insmod is what I used constantly in my early Linux days and it feels like the obvious answer when you hear "load a kernel module." But insmod is a dead end the moment you have unresolved dependencies, it just errors out and leaves you to figure out the chain yourself. modprobe is the one that reads the dependency map built by depmod and pulls in everything the module needs before loading the target, which is exactly what the question is describing. depmod itself is a trap option here because it only builds the dependency database, it does not load anything.
Ingrid P.May 29, 2026I had this one on a card for weeks and I kept landing on B, insmod, because the command name itself encodes the action: insert module. When I drilled the kernel module commands as a set, insmod was always the one that came up paired with "loads a module into the kernel," and that phrasing matches the question almost word for word. The dependency angle in the question wording did give me a small pause, but I reasoned that the exam is testing whether you know which command actually performs the load operation, not which one runs a dependency scan separately. My recall interval on this card has stretched out to 21 days without a miss, which for me is a strong signal that the association is solid.
Ola B.May 31, 2026Ingrid, the catch here is that modprobe (C) is actually the right pick because it handles dependencies automatically before loading, which is exactly what the question is testing. insmod will load a module but it blindly fails if dependencies are not already in place, so on the exam that distinction is the whole ballgame.