I'm pretty sure the reason it's asking you for a key is because you don't have the Day 1 Activation Patch installed.

I'm also pretty sure you need this not just for the GoG version but the DVD one as well.

I'm actually fairly certain that the day-one activation patch is only for the GOG version, because it's the patch that strips out the DRM. Retail versions had the DRM stripped in patch 1.1, so there's no reason they would ever get the activation patch that was included with the GOG version.

It asks for the key after it says Installing Redistributables. I assume that's when the installation ends?

Guess so. Enter the key, then, but be sure that you're not connected to the internet when you do or it will just download patch 1.3. GOG-version owners don't have to worry about that, but retail owners will have their games patched automatically to 1.3 if they're connected to the internet, so it's very important that you have patches 1.1 and 1.2 downloaded already and are offline when installing. Don't even start the game before patching. As soon as the install finishes, try to run the 1.1 patch.

And be sure Norton is disabled, just to be safe.

Just tried it... Turned the connection off to this computer, put the key in, and the window just shuts down. I clicked run as admin, still does it. Turned Norton off, opened patch1.1, then it says installation is incomplete/invalid.
Meh, I'm done with this.... I'll just not play it till 1.4 comes to fix it. Do you think it will fix this issue?

Maybe? But you'll be waiting for a long time, if the wait for patch 1.3 was anything to go by.

Maybe you'll find this thread helpful :)

As you may have known, I'm not tech savvy and don't really understand video cards and what not. So half the time I don't know what people are talking about. :P

I have the European boxed version of TW2 and have done the same thing you are trying to do with patching up to 1.2 instead of 1.3. What you need to do is this:

While reinstalling the game, make sure you are disconnected from the internet. After the reinstallation asks you to enter the reg. key, you close the installer. You then install the correct patch 0, which will update your game to version 1.1. It looks like this is where you made a mistake. If you're in the US, you need to download this file.
Don't download it from www.en.thewitcher.com/patch/ as that will patch you up to 1.3 straight away. You need to find an old version of Patcher_ATARI.exe that only contains version 1.1.
After installing the old Patcher_ATARI.exe, you install patch 1.2 from http://www.en.thewitcher.com/patch1-2/. Now you're ready to play TW2 with version 1.2.

Be aware that anyone outside the US that tries to do this need to download the correct version of the patch 0 file (in Europe it is Patcher_ROW.exe).

CDPR really needs to work on making this patching process more user-friendly and transparent, considering they have released a patch that breaks the game for a number of customers (3D Vision users, for instance).

If the Norton antivirus is the problem, it needs to be deactivated before installation of the game, not before the patches, because it's already too late when it says "installation incomplete". Also, not only run the patcher as administrator, but the game installation (open disc directory, find file "setup", right click, "run as administrator").

Every time after a patch is installed, the launcher pops up. Close it.
Also don't use the launcher for starting the game, only for choosing your settings. For starting the game, drag a shortcut from The Witcher 2/bin/witcher2.exe to your desktop with right click.


And what do we learn from all these installation/activation etc. problems?
GoG version was the only sensible choice. :D

Really good points here..

But ........ "-_- .........er, got a doubt.

Why do people want to play TW2 without 1.3 patch?, I played the entire prologue and there appears to be no issues!.

(If its performance or lagging...may be I don't see the difference because I use Vsync + Triple Buffering forced into the game with 60 FPS limit via DxTory)

Some people, especially those of us with ATI cards, lost a bit of performance after 1.3. For most people this wasn't significant, but others were barely teetering on the edge of playability to begin with. There are also some people experiencing problems with lag in cutscenes who might want to go back to 1.2.

Oh!...still, because I am an ATI/AMD card user myself and I run my PC at lower than standard specs.

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Just in case_spam_as a reference

CPU: AMD Phenom II X4 BE_C3 revision@2.7Ghz_0.9875v (normally I run it at 2.2Ghz_0.8500v)
GPU: AMD 6950 2GB (reference model design by Sapphire)
RAM: 4GB DDR2 800 Mhz, 4-4-4-12.
HDD NCQ: enabled

OS: Win 7 32-bit (with modified kernel to access full 4GB RAM and with /3GB switch).

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Thank you Aladin! I think this may work! I'm going to try it soon. Thank you very much. Glad you had my same dilemma.

It worked!!! Just played and the game is running smoothly on ultra!

Thank you Aladin! Seems all I needed was someone who had the boxed version. Also wanna thank the rest of you who tried to help. I appreciate you sticking through with me.

Just for the search function:
All the patches including Patch 0 ( New install patcher ): http://www.gamepron.com/title/6511/The-Witcher-2-Assassins-of-Kings/files/Patches/ ;)