How to activate old DVD to add to steam

[kbmodigity]

I own this game on DVD from back in the day. Steam allows you to activate old games you bought back then and activate them so you no longer need to use the disks. Problem is steam asks for the activation key from the old packaging. This game never came with activation keys.

Is there a way to activate it with just the disks?

[HeOfManyGames]

You cant activate the original CD copies on Steam, they're far too old. You can add them to steam, but that only makes a shortcut for launch via steam, it doesnt connect in anyway to Steam achievements/ownership etc.

Connecting any disc based game to Steam does nothing except creating a new shortcut. If you want to play without the disc, you need to use free 3rd party software to rip an image of the game. (Freerip - Daemon tools lite)

[Tanikaze]

Nah steam doesn't do that. Buying videogames in a retail store for PC usually ends up being just the package with a product key in it for you to activate it for whatever service this games uses (can be EA and Ubi too) but things like you own simply didn't exist as "digital download codes" back then.

[kbmodigity]

Thats not true. I just activated my original copy of halflife on steam, it actually added like 5 or 6 games. I just had to go up to games and then "activate product on steam' and punch in the code. I have done with this a ton of games from back in the day.

It then lets me download and install them without ever needing the old disks again.

Itsa ctually how I found steam in the first place. I bought a retail copy of empire total war special edition, and in order to get the additional content i needed to install steam. Over the course of multiple computers i have never needed the disk ever to reinstall it.

Either way it deffinetly is possible with other games, i am just wondering if there is a way to do it with san andreas and vice city since those original disks didnt come with activation codes.

[kbmodigity]

I just looked and it even says when you click that button to enter the code that came with a retail cd/dvd. Trust me, it works.

[dfg]

Yes, it works for some but not all games, going back years, but mostly dependent on whether the game required Steam as its DRM. San Andreas did not, back when it was released for PC, so there aren't any keys to activate. There are the odd exceptions, and you can probably find those compiled somewhere via Google.

[kbmodigity]

Originally posted by dfg:

Yes, it works for some but not all games, going back years, but mostly dependent on whether the game required Steam as its DRM. San Andreas did not, back when it was released for PC, so there aren't any keys to activate. There are the odd exceptions, and you can probably find those compiled somewhere via Google.

Kinda what I figured. It couldnt hurt to ask though.

[Crashed]

The retail versions were never meant to run on any digital distribution platform and thus cannot be redeemed.

A special version 3.00 was released on an old service called Direct2Drive then later on Steam using an early version of the Steam wrapper. The latter version got patched a couple times, known as "newsteam" which took away several songs due to expired licenses.

[kbmodigity]

Ty all for the input

[J4MESOX4D]

Games that require a DRM (Steam, Origin, uPlay etc..) have a one-time activation key which when consumed, adds the games to the library of the account you're signed into. You can then reinstall the games on any device going forward by downloading the files direct from your library without needing the discs again. These keys cannot be reused ever again and the game cannot be activated on another account. Never buy second hand PC games that have a DRM attached for this reason.

Some older PC games don't have a DRM requirement and can be installed in their entirety using the discs provided and the product key included. These can be installed on any PC's with a compatible drive as long as you have all the discs and retain the product code. You cannot add these games to your Steam account however but you can add the shortcut as a non-Steam game in which it will appear in your library. You will still need the required CD(s) to run the game and re-install in the future.

[Crashed]

Originally posted by J4MESOX4D:

Games that require a DRM (Steam, Origin, uPlay etc..) have a one-time activation key which when consumed, adds the games to the library of the account you're signed into. You can then reinstall the games on any device going forward by downloading the files direct from your library without needing the discs again. These keys cannot be reused ever again and the game cannot be activated on another account. Never buy second hand PC games that have a DRM attached for this reason.

Some older PC games don't have a DRM requirement and can be installed in their entirety using the discs provided and the product key included. These can be installed on any PC's with a compatible drive as long as you have all the discs and retain the product code. You cannot add these games to your Steam account however but you can add the shortcut as a non-Steam game in which it will appear in your library. You will still need the required CD(s) to run the game and re-install in the future.

The disc is the DRM in the case of GTA:SA. That said, some media outlets mistakenly claimed that SecuROM would break on Windows 10; my retail copy works on my PC, though sometimes it requires a couple tries to validate the disc, either due to the quirks of my drive or the timing of the Windows 10 kernel.

[St. Haborym]

You do realize this is a remaster, and not the original game, right?