SteamOS 3.9.5: offline CD-key / product activations of disc games (Proton) are lost after every reboot or Game Mode/Desktop switch; works on 3.8.28

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Evaluación

Dificultad
4/5
Tiempo estimado
3-5 días
Aptitud para principiantes
35/100
Tipo de issue
Error
Claridad
Bastante claro
Estado de actividad
Activo
Stack tecnológico
linux
Área
operating-systems

Línea de trabajo

The report identifies SteamOS 3.9.5, Proton 11.0-2, and the MALIE engine, but names no source files or tests. Start by comparing the system values Proton exposes across a Game Mode/Desktop Mode switch on 3.9.5 and 3.8.28, then trace any difference to the relevant SteamOS or Proton entry point. Done means identifying why activation state is lost and confirming that it persists across a switch or reboot.

Escrito por el modelo de indexación a partir del texto del issue.

Descripción

Your system information

  • Steam Deck model: OLED
  • Broken: SteamOS 3.9.5 (kernel 7.2.7-valve2-2-neptune-72-g31504582a073)
  • Working: SteamOS 3.8.28 (build 20260922.1)
  • Steam client: current stable (same client on both OS versions)
  • Proton: 11.0-2 (10.0 tested too)

Please describe your issue in as much detail as possible
I play Japanese visual novels by light (MALIE engine) from their original discs, added to Steam as non-Steam games and run with Proton. They use a one-time product activation: once activated, they no longer ask for the disc or the key.

Since updating to SteamOS 3.9.5, the activation is lost every time I switch between Desktop Mode and Game Mode (in either direction) or reboot / power off the Deck. The game then asks for the disc and the key again. Within the same session it works: closing and reopening the game keeps it activated.

Affected (all from the same Light Dies Irae & World box set, same activation system):

  • PARADISE LOST (2017, malie.exe 1.1.0.0) - tested in detail
  • Kajiri Kamui Kagura - same behavior
    These are the games I specifically tested. Since nothing in the prefix changes and the only difference is the SteamOS version, I suspect this may be a general problem for Windows games that tie a CD key / product activation to the machine (hardware-locked activation), not something specific to these titles or to light's protection.

Key findings

  1. Rolling back to SteamOS 3.8.28 (boot menu, previous image) fixes it: the activation survives reboots. Same Steam client, same Proton prefix, same Proton version. I'm now pinned to 3.8.28 (rauc mark-active booted).
  2. Nothing in the Proton prefix changes: I compared the whole registry (user.reg/system.reg) and all files in drive_c between "activated" and "asks again after reboot". No difference.
  3. Same prefix is used (not recreated); compatdata appid unchanged.
  4. Stable between boots: hostname, Wi-Fi MAC, drive letters (dosdevices), C: serial file.
  5. Just switching Game Mode -> Desktop Mode (without launching the game in Game Mode) is enough to lose it on 3.9.5.

My guess: something in the 3.9 base/kernel (Linux 7.2) makes a hardware/system value that Wine/Proton reports to Windows programs differ between sessions, so the activation thinks it's a different machine.

Steps for reproducing this issue:

  1. On SteamOS 3.9.5, add the game's malie.exe as a non-Steam game, Proton 11.0-2.
  2. Launch it, activate it with the product key, close it.
  3. Switch to Game Mode and back to Desktop Mode (or reboot the Deck).
  4. Launch the game: it asks for the disc and activation again.
  5. Boot SteamOS 3.8.28 from the boot menu and repeat: the activation persists.
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