Steam and DVD conflicts

[Aiight]

So, I bought CE and installed and authenticated/verified it on computer A. I disconnected computer A from the internet, connected computer B to the internet (which does not have a DVD drive) and downloaded Steam and HL2 from my preexisting account. Now, when I try to play the preloaded HL2 on computer B, it says

No Disc Inserted

There must be some way to play the game without the DVD for those who downloaded the game, since Valve designed the Steam system to allow people to download the game and play without the DVD.

Can someone please help?

 

[sholmes01]

Do you have CD/DVD packet writing software like DLA from Sonic installed? I had the exact same thing happen to me with HL2 and HL-Source. In my case I was able to disable it by going to My Computer, right clicking on the CD/DVD burner and selecting Properties. Select the DLA Tab and then uncheck "Enable DLA on your Drives". I have DLA, but not sure if others might cause the problem. I hope this helps. If I want to use DLA, I have to check the box again. It would be nice if they could fix this problem.

 

[we11er]

Everyone with the DVD is having this problem. Nobody can play without having to insert the disc.

I'm not sure whether this is permanent, or whether the authentication servers are still messed up - so that it still requires the dvd to authenticate you. Apparently we are supposed to get a message through steam saying we've been validated, and you then don't need the DVD. I haven't had any such message.

 

[Aiight]

Well, I don't have a DVD read problem. I don't even have a DVD-ROM in the computer. I downloaded the game onto the computer via Steam, but it still wants a disk.

I'm wondering whether the problem is that Steam recognizes that my version of HL2 came from the DVD and therefore requires it, or if I still need a validation.

That still means that either A) Valve needs to fix Steam to allow ALL customers to play without the DVD or B) Valve needs to start validating the games.

Lose-lose, but thanks for the help.

 

[we11er]

Yeah there must be something bound to our account saying "this person bought the DVD". Maybe the key is a different format to steam-bought versions. Just heard unnofficially that valve have said they will release a fix for this as soon as possible. Note that this came from an unreliable source...

 

[JPack]

Yes, if you bought the DVD version of the game, you'll need the DVD in the computer in which you are playing the game. You cannot simply enter your key and use the preload files.