cdkey help for steam.

Ok, ive finally got it all up and running.. i type in my cd key in Steam to register and it accepts but says, "running too slow to ..." blah blah too slow to do anything at the moment. So then i shut the computer down, go to try and play some games, type in my cd key again this time to see if it is ready, and it says the cd key is duplicated! what the ****? what am i supposed to do now? its eaten my key and i need that to play! help?

Contact steam. Or buy half-life (again)(like i did, when someone took my cd key)

I'm afraid that we are not the steam forums, it would be better to ask questions like that on the steam forums (www.steampowered.com) as you will have a better chance of getting an answer.
Check the support section of that site too.