mount automagic not, in 3.4 boot: knoppix26

How automagic should I expect mount to be?

With 3.4 boot: knoppix26, I find often I reenter such commands as:

ln -s /dev/sda /dev/flash
mkdir /mnt/flash
mount /dev/flash /mnt/flash
umount /mnt/flash

I relive that hassle often despite my:

$ mount | grep auto
automount(pid701) on /mnt/auto type autofs (rw,fd=4,pgrp=701,minproto=2,maxproto=4)
$

Thanks in advance, Pat LaVarre

P.S.

I found nothing relevant re "mount" at:

http://www.google.com/search?q=site%3Aknoppix.net+mount
http://www.knoppix.net/forum/faq.php
http://www.knoppix.net/docs/index.php/FaqGeneral
http://www.knoppix.net/docs/index.php/FaqHardware

P.P.S.

I resisted the temptation to ask at the nearly empty:

http://www.knoppix.net/docs/index.php/autodetection

These next two anecdotes I blog here in the hopes of me someday somehow finding the time to help more by reproducing these reports myself ...

[2]

A friend having connected a device built of out a FireWire bridge to a PATAPI DMA DVD demoed the 2004-05-17 Knoppix 3.4 refuse to boot lk 2.4 ... the text messages got as far as mentioning sbp2.o and then choked.

[3]

Same friend saw boot: knoppix26 place a /dev/cdrom icon on the desktop, but leave /dev/cdrom not found while connecting /dev/scd0 and a mountable /dev/scd1.