Looks like an old topic, but in case you're still wondering, there's another topic about this problem, and it was apparently solved.
http://www.gog.com/en/forum/dungeons_dragons_dragonshard/dragonshard_not_drm_free_invalid_cd_key_error_in_crossover

There is not much of a solution in the indicated thread. It suggests to not patch the game, which I did not, and even uninstalling and reinstalling the game does not fix anything. This is upsetting. And I already launched and played the game, but something seems to have broken my installation.

I had this same issue. Going into the Dragonshard Folder, right clicking the dragonshard executable and setting it to run as administrator did the trick for me.

Also I never install games in the Program Files folder. I am running Windows 8 Pro 64 Bit.

Hope this helps!

I'm running Windows 10. Setting "Run as administrator" doesn't help. Still getting "Invalid CD-Key".

Hi, incase anyone else has this issue, I'm running windows 10 pro x64 and after installing and running for the first time it gave me this error. To fix it all I had to do was go to the folder where the game is installed, right click the Dragonshard.exe, go to the compatibility tab and tick the box in compatibility mode (windows xp service pack 3). Nothing else to do, change or add. Hope this helps :)

Execute regedit.exe and find the following key:


HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Liquid Entertainment\Dragonshard


inside set the CD Key field with the missing CD key required upon installation of the game.

Remember to patch the game to allow it to run on recent versions of Windows since Vista.

Same. Does anyone know of a working fix?

I had the problem. I installed the game first to a my network storage and became this error. After reinstalling the game to C:.... its works perfectly.

that error can randomly happen if you dont run the game in administrator mode

Just ran into the same problem. Here is how I resolved the problem:

1. In GOG Galaxy, go to the page for the game.

2. Click on the Settings icon, (i.e., the icon to the right of the Play button.)

3. Select: Manage Installation > Verify / Repair

Wait for Galaxy to repair the installation and inject a CD key into the installation. At this point, the game can run without the "invalid CD-key" message popping up, but I got a blank screen. I could hear the intro sound, but the screen was completely blank. So:

1. Go to the installation folder for the game: i.e., click on the Setting icon for the game again, select: Manage Installation > Show Folder.

2. Right-click on Dragonshard.exe, and select "Properties" at the bottom.

3. Select the "Compatibility" tab.

4. Check "Run this program in compatibility mode for:", and select "Windows XP (Service Pack 3)" (which was the Windows version that had come out shortly before the game did.)

5. Click on "Apply".

6. Close Properties.

The game should run now if you press "Play" in Galaxy.