I can only read files on a vfat partition -- I can't change the files. When I check permissions on files, it says root is the owner.

The partition's line in the fstab file says:
/dev/hda5 /mnt/hda5 vfat auto,noatime,users,suid,dev,exec 0 0 # AutoUpdate

When I enter "mount" in the Terminal, the line for that partition says:
/dev/hda5 on /mnt/hda5 type vfat (rw,noatime)

If I enter "mount /dev/hda5" or "mount /mnt/hda5", it says:
mount: /dev/hda5 already mounted or /mnt/hda5 busy
mount: according to mtab, /dev/hda5 is already mounted on /mnt/hda5


This is with Wolvix. Any help appreciated.

Change the fstab line to:

/dev/hda5 /mnt/hda5 vfat auto,umask=0,noatime,users,suid,dev,exec 0 0 # AutoUpdate

and remount the partition for the new setting to take effect. Run as root:

# mount -a

to remount or simply reboot.