In general; in case of issues there are better ways to fix things then just disabling AO. The FAQ has some information that could be very helpful to solve problems with plugins that don't like to be optimized.
Specific remark: Autoptimize does not create image sprites, but it can inline smaller images (base64-encoded, in the CSS). If your problem is with images not appearing and if "Generate data: URIs for images?" is checked, you might want to try deactivating that option.
So please do take some time to read the FAQ & try troubleshooting using that information. Let me (and others why might stumble on this thread) know how things work out or if you need additional support!
Have a nice sunday,
frank