Hello.
I pre-ordered PC edition of Skyrim, which arrived from Amazon around lunchtime - for 9 hours since then I have been trying in vain to get to actually install and play the game. Steam has been the barrier.
I've tried all the tips I can find on forums, Steam tech support FAQs etc and I cannot even open Steam properly, or make any progress beyond this:

- Put disc in DVD drive. Click 'Install Skyrim.'

- Agree to licence conditions. Install Steam.

- Progress bar headed "updating Steam" pops up - showing zero progress - and sits there doing nothing for about 20 minutes.

Steam either goes unresponsive, or comes up with the "Steam.exe (main exception): To run Steam you must first connect to the internet."

I have been connected to the internet all day, looking up ways to try to fix this problem! Reinstalling, changing lots of firewall/internet settings, deleting/renaming the .blob file.... I've never used Steam before - my internet connection isn't amazing (but adequate for general browsing, s-l-o-w-l-y downloading some add-ons for games like Dragon Age etc) so I don't download games and have no interest in doing so. I like a box and a manual! I just want to verify my copy of Skyrim is genuine and get dragon-slaying!

I think I might have to just give up before I go mad. I've seen lots of references to this problem with Steam and tried all the fixes I've come across several times each - nothing. Lots of refs to people just not being able to play games they've bought for years at a time if ever again. So it seems I might just never be able to play Skyrim on PC!

I'm seriously unhappy that this problem is stopping me from playing a game I've bought and paid for. I'm at my wits' end. I've tried submitting help requests/sending emails via the Bethesda website but when I click to submit I'm just taken to the previous page and there's no indication, on screen or by email, that my message has been sent. Been making a nuisance of myself on various forums (the Steam ones are now back up but virtually impenetrable as a first time visitor) to no avail.

I'll try anything at this point. I will sacrifice chickens to Yog Sothoth to get to play Skyrim. If there's anything else to possibly try I'd be glad to hear it.

Try installing on another PC, to see if it's your PC?

I don't have another PC myself but I'm going to try to see if friends can help, as more than 24 hours after receiving the game I still can't play it!

I *think* my problem might be that I'm connecting using a mobile broadband dongle. I rent, and don't want to pay to have a phone line installed here esp as my tenancy's up soon and landlord hasn't confirmed we can stay on another year. Have googled "using steam with dongle" and some have problems, some not. I'm in the UK and use O2, a few seem to have problems using Steam with O2. I've tried a hundred fixes, nothing works. I don't want to use Steam, don't care about achievements, prefer to buy a real product to downloading - I just want to verify the game!

I'm checking if any of my friends have home broadband so I can go round there with my laptop to verify. If they don't - well, I'm screwed. Considering trying a few free wi-fi places nearby but Steam seems to be picky about which wireless connections it'll recognise and which it won't so that could be another wasted day.

It's pretty rubbish - the back of the box just says "you need an internet connection" not "you need exactly the kind of internet connection Steam likes, which we won't tell you about, so spend a day googling and going insane."

Maybe try installing http://store.steampowered.com/about/ and setting up an account first before installing from the DVD. Just a suggestion though.

Hi Kaspar - yeah I've done that, leaving the Chrome window I'm logged in on open while I run steam/try to install the game. No difference.

Well, I'm off on my Free WiFi Tour Of North London, Sponsored By Steam! Wish me luck!

Haul your rig over to a friends house who has broadband, setup a connection there and install Skyrim? Then put Steam in offline mode?

Hello - yup, that was plan A, I've put out the bat signal but everyone who's got back to me so far also uses a dongle. Serve me right for having waster mates in the rental sector!

Well I went out and got a ethernet cable, loaded up Steam on my comp and now in the process of downloading the update for the game.

Its taken nearly fifteen minutes to go from 97 percent to 98 percent via a pretty fast internet connection. STEAM!!!!!! GGGGGRRRRR

Me thinks this will be the easy part. Wish me luck I am going in.

Good luck, thekarithian! Hope it gets there in the end...

Fingers crossed, my torment is over. In the third place with free wi-fi I've tried, Steam has started no problem and downloaded the update in 3 minutes. I used the fix to install from disc and it worked first time, no hitch. I can barely believe it's true. Weeping with joy into my LARGE quadruple-caffeinated latte!

Just testing offline mode before I waltz out back to my not-good-enough-for-Steam home connection... then hope I'll be good to go, and start enjoying all the bugs the rest of the forum are talking about.....