Warning-STEAM message "We've come up empty"

[michelip]

About 4 weeks ago, after buying and successfully using COD I was suddenly denied acces by STEAM with the message "We've come up empty" A check of my account and the STEAM library shows "Games installed: 0 " I contacted STEAM's support staff. After a couple of days they told me that they can do nothing until I send them photos of the box (inside & out), and photos of the actual game disk, and the booklet with serial number. I complied. They said I hadn't done it properly, so I carefully followed their instructions and did it again - twice just to be sure. I never heard from them again. I reminded them of my plight but did not get the courtesy of a reply, so I uninstalled and tried to re-install COD, but now got a message "Invalid CD - game number already registered". Of course it is already registered - In my name! Notice how STEAM has taken the failure of THEIR system and turned it into MY problem. They've just opted out. This is what happens when developers sub-contract games support. They really just don't care! I guess I've done my hard-earned $89.95.

[Ataros]

Are you sure you sent the photos to Steam but not to some pirates fishing game serials in this way? A trojan could deny you the Steam excess the first time and then substitute the Steam support address you wrote to. Just a possibility.

[Jumo211]

@ Ataros
This is not exactly the kind of game If I was hacker or scamer or whatever to go through such a nuisance to get a stupid activation number from someone else pretending to be Steam :rolleyes:
Others have similar problems with Steam , it sucks quite frankly .
I don't see anytime soon any line up of folks who will be intertested in any hacking as long as this simulator condition is what it is and by the time it gets fixed there will be a lot more hackers attraction to other brand new games with successful releases and sales ..
Just my $0.02 :-|

[Fjordmonkey]

Here's what I'd try (you've probably already done so, but I'll say it regardless.

1: Go into your steam-folder and take a copy of the folder named Common in your Steamapps-folder (\steam\steamapps\common). This will allow you to NOT have do download the entire game again. Mind you, this folder will be huge if you have a lot of steam-games installed.

2: Uninstall Steam, delete the Steam-folder afterwards (but keep the copy of your Common-folder).

3: Reboot your computer, and reinstall Steam. Shut down Steam afterwards.

4: Copy your old Common-folder into \steam\steamapps. If it warns you about files being present, overwrite them.

5: Restart Steam, go into your Library and check if there's any games in the list.

If CLoD shows up, right-click it, choose Properties, Go to Local Files and do both a "verify integrity of game Cache" and Defragment Cache Files".

If not, you will have to deal with Steam Support. Reinstalling the game from discs will NOT work, as you will quite rightly get the message that the CD-key is already in use, which is also correct behaviour when it comes to Steam due to the link between your account and your CD-keys. You can, if you so choose, redownload the game through Steam, but only if the game shows up in the first place. Might not be an option for people with slow connections or bandwith-limitations, however, as the installed game takes about 3.3Gb of diskspace.

This might be a long-shot, as it's the first time I've seen that particular issue. Usually Steam is on the ball when it comes to Support (last time I had to contact them it took them about 2 days after I had sent in the info they requested and until the issue was resolved), but results might differ.

[michelip]

Thanks for the suggestions Fjordmonkey. I'll give it a try.
Regards,
michelip

[Troll2k]

2 days!.That does not seem like good support. You already bought and paid for it and now can not play due to their error.

[Wolf_Rider]

strange they'd ask for photo's of everything else bar a valid receipt

[Troll2k]

What if you d/led it?There is no box.

[von Pilsner]

What if you d/led it?There is no box.

If you bought it from Steam they will have financial records and it should be no problem... I suspect if you bought it from someone else and activated there they could simply tell you to contact seller for a (new) valid key. Hopefully Steam support will come through and fix this soon.

Imagine the chaos if they regionally locked out copies after USA release!!! (RU version only work in Russia, UK version not work in America, etc...)

[Ataros]

What if you d/led it?There is no box.

Exactly.

Some internet shops sell CoD cheaper then it costs at Steam. They say they sell a retail copy that they purchase with dealer discount very cheap. When you purchase a game from them they send you a picture of a DVD/box with the reg number.

Some of these shops are legal but some sell stolen numbers. Just a possibility.

[Fjordmonkey]

Exactly.

Some internet shops sell CoD cheaper then it costs at Steam. They say they sell a retail copy that they purchase with dealer discount very cheap. When you purchase a game from them they send you a picture of a DVD/box with the reg number.

Some of these shops are legal but some sell stolen numbers. Just a possibility.

Hence why I've stopped buying boxed products unless it's either a game I really want the boxed edition of (and then only if it's enough goodies in the game to warrant it), or if it's not on Steam. If I have a choice between Steam and boxed for the same price, I ALWAYS go with Steam. Haven't had an issue with it at all, apart from that episode from a couple of years back when a friend of mine gave me his copy of Half Life Orange Box.

[michelip]

I bought it from a reputable games retailer in Australia (E B Games who have been very supportive) and registered it with STEAM within 24 hrs of purchase. Since last post have sent required photos to STEAM another 3 times but they've not even responded. Now (3 days ago) I've written to Ubisoft's General Manager in Australia to advise him of my situation. No reply yet.
Michelip.

[TheEnlightenedFlorist]

http://forums.steamgames.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1840700

Or maybe...

http://www.gamefaqs.com/boards/959559-fallout-new-vegas/58212977?page=1

(second post)

[MOG_Hammer]

I bought it from a reputable games retailer in Australia (E B Games who have been very supportive) and registered it with STEAM within 24 hrs of purchase. Since last post have sent required photos to STEAM another 3 times but they've not even responded. Now (3 days ago) I've written to Ubisoft's General Manager in Australia to advise him of my situation. No reply yet.
Michelip.

E B Games also buys and sells useds games. You could have ended up getting an already used copy of CoD. Just return there and ask for a legit new copy. SInce it is a boxed version, Steam will ask for proof of purchase. If you still have your receipt, it is the store where you bought the game that should correct the situation

[Screamadelica]

I had this problem also. Bought a standard box version (made in Australia) from EB Games, intended as a backup copy to the Collector's set, and have held off installing until the game was in some kind of a workable state with the last patch.:rolleyes: When I went to install it, I got the same message - "Already activated", etc.
As I had not installed it within the 90 days time period Steam will do nothing. Interestingly though, the Collector's set installed fine. Also got the same "Already Activated" message with another brand new game, also bought from EB. In both cases the good folk at the EB store swapped the games for a replacement copy which installed fine. Something strange is definitely going on here.:)