cdrom read/mounting problem

[David Brode <david.brode@olaplink.com>]

I'm still still trying to get Debian 2.1 to recognize my cdrom so I can
install some apps.  I've installed Debian 2.1 and upon startup the kernal
loads my cdrom device driver fine & returns this message:

mcd=0x320,9: Mitsumi status, type and version: 10 D 2 Double Speed CD ROM

Which is cool b/c I have a Mitsumi FX001D drive.  Then I've been told (in
response to prior questions) to establish a symlink, so I do: 

ln -s /dev/mcd /dev/cdrom

which returns:

ln: /dev/cdrom: File exists

Here's my first question: does this mean that the command succeeded or
failed?  Kinda hard to tell since I don't have enough installed to find any
help or man pages on ln.  In any case, I still can't mount my cdrom.  When
I do:

mount -t iso9660 -r /dev/cdrom /mnt/cdrom 

it returns: 

mount: the kernal does not recognize /dev/cdrom as a block device. 
 (maybe 'insmod driver'?) 

I've also tried using /dev/mcd in place of /dev/cdrom, to no avail.  I read
the CD-ROM HOWTO and its troubleshooting section.  I pass Step 3, b/c my
kernal does detect the drive upon starting.  But Step 4, below fails.
Briefly, step 4 is to test if I can read from the drive.  I do:

dd if=/dev/cdrom of=/dev/null bs=2048

which returns:

dd: /dev/cdrom: Operation not supported by device

Where do I go from here?  TIA.