why is steam doing this?

[kacation_man]

I went out and got my friend a copy of HL2: GOTY edition cuz im a nice guy... i emailed him the CD key and he's saying that when he types it in it asks him to put in the CD? why dose it do this? Its never asked for me to put in a CD before, it just says activateing cd key then starts the install/update. Didnt have a problem doing that with Half life 2 episode one... or Sin Emergence

 

[Russian Mafia]

Is it that hard to put the CD in?

 

[Naudian]

Well if he emailed him the CD key then I guess his friend doesn't have the CD, kacation man does.
I guess it asks because it recognizes the key as a retail one, and not one bought off of Steam.
You'll just have to get the CD to him at some point.

 

[Russian Mafia]

Oh sorry, I thought he said the he mailed the CD itself.

 

[kacation_man]

Well if he emailed him the CD key then I guess his friend doesn't have the CD, kacation man does.
I guess it asks because it recognizes the key as a retail one, and not one bought off of Steam.
You'll just have to get the CD to him at some point.

i might have to... but i just bought Sin Emergence from the same place at the same time and, put in the code with out even touching the cd and it worked with no problems.

 

[Hectic Glenn]

Some retail versions just need the CD, nothing you can do about it, its a protection thing, incase that CD key has been taken out of the box from the shop and you wrote it down. I'm assuming something dodgy is going on here, but if you have the CD's and not the CD key is used they are useless to you, so mail them to him. I'm not sure why you've kept them. Anyway, play with fire, get your fingers burned baby, burned.

 

[kacation_man]

not quite sure what you just said ( that last part ) but I'll probably just have to give him the CDs.