Practice Operating System Deadlock MCQ questions with answers and explanations. These questions cover deadlock conditions, prevention, avoidance, detection, Banker’s algorithm, and resource allocation concepts. Useful for IBPS IT Officer, GATE, and other competitive exams.
Difficulty: Easy to Medium
Total Questions: 15
Operating System Deadlock MCQ Questions
Q1. Which condition leads to a Deadlock?
A. Hold and wait
B. No Preemption
C. Mutual Exclusion
D. All of the mentioned
View Answer & Explanation
Answer: D
Explanation: Deadlock requires four conditions: Mutual Exclusion, Hold and Wait, No Preemption, and Circular Wait.
Q2. Which of the following resources can cause a deadlock?
A. Read-only files
B. Shared programs
C. Shared resources like Printers
D. All of the mentioned
View Answer & Explanation
Answer: C
Explanation: Deadlocks occur over non-shareable resources like printers or tape drives.
Q3. Banker’s Algorithm is used as a tool for:
A. Deadlock occurrence method
B. Deadlock avoidance method
C. Deadlock detection method
D. Deadlock recovery method
View Answer & Explanation
Answer: B
Explanation: Banker’s Algorithm avoids deadlock by ensuring the system remains in a safe state.
Q4. A system is in a “Safe State” if:
A. The system can allocate resources in some order without deadlock
B. There is a deadlock
C. All processes are terminated
D. None of the mentioned
View Answer & Explanation
Answer: A
Explanation: A safe state ensures at least one safe sequence exists.
Q5. A process holding resources and waiting for others is:
A. Mutual Exclusion
B. Hold and Wait
C. Circular Wait
D. No Preemption
View Answer & Explanation
Answer: B
Explanation: This defines the Hold and Wait condition.
Q6. Deadlock prevention ensures:
A. At least one condition for deadlock cannot occur
B. All processes terminate
C. System is always safe
D. Resources are unlimited
View Answer & Explanation
Answer: A
Explanation: Prevention removes at least one necessary condition for deadlock.
Q7. In a Wait-for Graph, deadlock exists if:
A. Graph is bipartite
B. Graph contains a cycle
C. Graph has many nodes
D. No edges exist
View Answer & Explanation
Answer: B
Explanation: A cycle indicates deadlock in single-instance systems.
Q8. For single-instance resources, a cycle in RAG is:
A. Necessary
B. Sufficient
C. Both
D. Neither
View Answer & Explanation
Answer: C
Explanation: In such systems, a cycle guarantees deadlock.
Q9. Which protocol solves priority inversion?
A. Deadlock avoidance
B. Priority Inheritance
C. Mutual exclusion
D. Round Robin
View Answer & Explanation
Answer: B
Explanation: It temporarily boosts priority of lower-priority process.
Q10. “No Preemption” means:
A. Resources can be taken anytime
B. Resources cannot be forcibly taken
C. CPU always switches
D. None
View Answer & Explanation
Answer: B
Explanation: Once allocated, resources cannot be taken back.
Q11. Circular wait can be prevented by:
A. Request all resources
B. Linear ordering of resources
C. Preemption
D. Semaphores
View Answer & Explanation
Answer: B
Explanation: Ordering prevents cyclic dependencies.
Q12. Banker’s Algorithm solves:
A. Deadlock avoidance
B. Recovery
C. Mutual exclusion
D. Context switching
View Answer & Explanation
Answer: A
Explanation: It ensures system remains in safe state.
Q13. RAG consists of:
A. Process nodes
B. Resource nodes
C. Both
D. Only processes
View Answer & Explanation
Answer: C
Explanation: It includes both processes and resources.
Q14. Unsafe state means:
A. Deadlock occurred
B. Deadlock may occur
C. Safe system
D. System shutdown
View Answer & Explanation
Answer: B
Explanation: Unsafe ≠ deadlock, but risk exists.
Q15. Ostrich Algorithm means:
A. Detect immediately
B. Prevent deadlock
C. Ignore deadlock
D. Recover system
View Answer & Explanation
Answer: C
Explanation: It ignores deadlock assuming it is rare.
Conclusion
These Operating System Deadlock MCQ Questions help strengthen understanding of deadlock conditions, prevention, avoidance, and detection techniques. Practice regularly for IBPS IT Officer and GATE exams.
For detailed theory, refer to Operating Systems Deadlock concepts .