Not quite Windows 101.
I have MC, Windows, and the only other software running that reads an optical disc, DVDfab, all set to "Do Nothing".
But MC will still read any optical disc inserted and store information about it in its CD Database. "CD" being a carryover from earlier versions, as it stores information on DVD and Blu-ray optical discs as well.
If I am ripping a Blu-ray using DVDfab, MC often doesn't start reading the optical disc until I start the rip. It doesn't seem to detect the disc until I start the rip, or maybe I just don't wait long enough after inserting the disc for MC to do its thing. Usually, MC and DVDfab read the disc at the same time, which significantly slows down the rip until MC finishes, which takes a few minutes usually.
I'm not sure anything can be done about this though, as I want MC to put an entry into its CD Database for the disc. It isn't trying to play the disc. It is just reading the disc to create the database entry. Maybe if MC detected the disc faster it would finish its work before I started the rip using DVDfab. I've tried the "Let Windows Handle" setting before and it didn't improve things. Maybe I should try that again.
Anyway, the point is that there is more going on than just the Autoplay settings of Windows and other applications. I can live with the delayed rips, although the two applications do work my optical drive pretty hard for a few minutes!