PC game product code

[Upinflames]

Hi,

Bought a CD of 'Empire Total War' at a car boot sale in the summer. Just got round to sticking it in the PC but I can't get any sense out of it. I think it must be licenced to whichever PC had it originally.

Is it for the bin?

[Buttery Ken]

It's about 15 years old. It won't be locked to a specific PC, but might struggle to run on something modern.

What is actually happening?