diff --git a/lib/utils.sh b/lib/utils.sh
index d30f948..3421604 100644
--- a/lib/utils.sh
+++ b/lib/utils.sh
@@ -391,12 +391,20 @@ is_kernel_option_enabled() {
 is_a_partition() {
     local PARTITION=$1
     FNRET=128
-    if grep "[[:space:]]$1[[:space:]]" /etc/fstab | grep -vqE "^#"; then
-        debug "$PARTITION found in fstab"
-        FNRET=0
+    if [ ! -f /etc/fstab ] || [ -n "$(sed '/^#/d' /etc/fstab)" ]; then
+        debug "/etc/fstab not found or empty, searching mountpoint"
+        if mountpoint "$PARTITION" | grep -qE ".*is a mountpoint.*"; then
+            FNRET=0
+        fi
     else
-        debug "Unable to find $PARTITION in fstab"
-        FNRET=1
+        if grep "[[:space:]]$1[[:space:]]" /etc/fstab | grep -vqE "^#"; then
+            debug "$PARTITION found in fstab"
+            FNRET=0
+        else
+            debug "Unable to find $PARTITION in fstab"
+            FNRET=1
+        fi
+
     fi
 }
 
@@ -416,18 +424,23 @@ is_mounted() {
 has_mount_option() {
     local PARTITION=$1
     local OPTION=$2
-    if grep "[[:space:]]${PARTITION}[[:space:]]" /etc/fstab | grep -vE "^#" | awk '{print $4}' | grep -q "bind"; then
-        local actual_partition
-        actual_partition="$(grep "[[:space:]]${PARTITION}[[:space:]]" /etc/fstab | grep -vE "^#" | awk '{print $1}')"
-        debug "$PARTITION is a bind mount of $actual_partition"
-        PARTITION="$actual_partition"
-    fi
-    if grep "[[:space:]]${PARTITION}[[:space:]]" /etc/fstab | grep -vE "^#" | awk '{print $4}' | grep -q "$OPTION"; then
-        debug "$OPTION has been detected in fstab for partition $PARTITION"
-        FNRET=0
+    if [ ! -f /etc/fstab ] || [ -n "$(sed '/^#/d' /etc/fstab)" ]; then
+        debug "/etc/fstab not found or empty, readin current mount options"
+        has_mounted_option "$PARTITION" "$OPTION"
     else
-        debug "Unable to find $OPTION in fstab for partition $PARTITION"
-        FNRET=1
+        if grep "[[:space:]]${PARTITION}[[:space:]]" /etc/fstab | grep -vE "^#" | awk '{print $4}' | grep -q "bind"; then
+            local actual_partition
+            actual_partition="$(grep "[[:space:]]${PARTITION}[[:space:]]" /etc/fstab | grep -vE "^#" | awk '{print $1}')"
+            debug "$PARTITION is a bind mount of $actual_partition"
+            PARTITION="$actual_partition"
+        fi
+        if grep "[[:space:]]${PARTITION}[[:space:]]" /etc/fstab | grep -vE "^#" | awk '{print $4}' | grep -q "$OPTION"; then
+            debug "$OPTION has been detected in fstab for partition $PARTITION"
+            FNRET=0
+        else
+            debug "Unable to find $OPTION in fstab for partition $PARTITION"
+            FNRET=1
+        fi
     fi
 }