I was having trouble getting my Grandma’s Ubuntu Hardy box to read a CD that my uncle gave her. It was complaining about being unable to mount a UTF volume. Google to the rescue. After a page full of ultimately unsuccessful Ubuntu forum posts, I came across this post. It said largely the same thing as a post on the Ubuntu forums that I found, but it included a crucial patch. Following these directions, the CD mounted – first try. Hooray!
Stupid Vista. According to the post, it doesn’t follow UTF standards. Well, that problem’s over with now.