Steam?
Steam?
cds were the DRM method used previously, confirming purchases were valid. No physical CDs are required; just log in via Google and you should recognize your purchase. However, a single account is usually sufficient. Still, act quickly. Besides GOG, you can download directly from them then use it whenever needed. But not every title is available—some require updates, which may need re-downloading for GOG. Certain games might not run or need patches depending on your operating system. There are rumors about patching solutions, but many suggest downloading the game offline via Steam and connecting once, with a recommended check-in every 30 days. It remains an issue on Steam, especially for older systems like Windows XP. Some titles are just digital keys, not physical discs, and the original CD version was often missing. A CD version existed, but it wasn’t always present.
Technically all computer hard drives are physical devices, which makes these questions a bit unusual. It’s better to simply refer to online DRM instead. Of course, you can remove that part—even run it through the Steam client—but doing so would be illegal. Since you purchased DRM, there’s no free way out in that regard.
Well actually... Most CDs came with a code. Online DRM is the real deal now. The only change seems to be Steam not providing it, which might be against the rules—but probably not. If you're caught, you'd end up in trouble, not just in Bahamas. You usually get a 3 to 12 month grace period where either the code or Steam will just stop working until you log back in. (I tried this myself many times over the years—my 2017 Lenovo laptop has been offline for at least three years, and even though I never logged out or shut it down completely, Steam was still running.) Only games like Colin Mcrae 2 are available that way, and they’re not on Steam. From DVDs, of course...
You're all set to proceed, you know. Just point the steam key at the installation directory and choose either install or verify. It's a solid shortcut—most likely it will fetch any updates, or at least feel like it. Definitely a time-saver overall. I've backed up tons of games this way, even if I don't play them much, but hey, you could do it if you wanted!