It's a D drive, I know that.
When I put CD's in it, they don't automatically start. and this particular CD had a manual that told me to open "Run" and type in D:\Autorun
So I did. and a box popped up that said the CD was either corrupt or not compatible with windows, and I know it is. This has been happening with every CD i use, what should I do?

Hi and welcome to D-A-L

have you tried a lens cleaner, over time dirt and dust build up on the lens

Just as an added check, ensure the drive parameters are set to autorun when media is inserted.

If you're running XP;
Open My Computer or Windows Explorer and right click on the CDROM drive. Choose Properties, then the AutoPlay tab. Make your selections as per the media types and click "Apply" for each choice/selection.

If you're running Win9x;
Open Device Manager. (Right click My Computer, then click Properties, then the Device Manager tab.)
Click on the plus sign (+) to the left of CDROM to show your CD drive.
Double click on your drive, then click on the Settings tab.
Ensure there's a check mark in the boxes for Disconnect, and Auto insert notification. (You can also check the DMA box if it's blank. If your CD drive is capable of DMA transfer, you should see an increase in the speed of its operation. If it isn't capable, Windows will remove the check mark.)

A restart is recommended for the above.

If the problems still exists after checking/applying the above, you could try uninstalling the CDROM drive through Device Manager. On the next boot, the hardware/resources will be reinstalled. (All Windows versions)

If the machine has a floppy drive, you can check the hardware in DOS to make sure it's operational on the hardware level:

Boot the machine with a Win98SE Floppy Boot Disk*. Choose> Boot with CDROM support. When you get the A:\> prompt, insert a data (not music) CD into the drive. (Your Windows CD is perfect.) Type in dir x: (x is the device letter assigned to your CDROM drive near the end of the floppy boot process).

If you get a directory listing of the CD, it proves the hardware is operational.



*The above bootdisk image file is a self extracting file and has to be executed (run) from a running Windows machine in order to create the actual startup diskette on one of your floppy disks. (This image file produces the same bootdisk which 98SE creates.) This downloaded image file will format the floppy disk to ensure its integrity, write the files to the disk, then verify the file write, so it'll take a minute or three to create the bootdisk.

Ensure the floppy drive is set as the first boot device in the bios.

NOTE: When you boot a machine with this boot floppy, it creates a RAMDRIVE in system memory to contain DOS system tools/drivers. Thus it will move your "normal" CDROM device/drive letter "up" one level. (If your CDROM is normally E: it will be F: when booting with this bootdisk.) The CDROM device letter will be assigned near the end of the floppy boot process, right after MSCDEX is loaded.