When you contact Technical Support for help, you may be asked to download a third party program to help us diagnose the problem. We request that you download and run these tools to gather information about your PC, your network connection and the programs you are running. Below we have provided more information about the programs you might be asked to run.
We understand that some people might be reluctant to download third party software, especially if unfamiliar with the software in question. We also understand that not everyone likes to share information about their set-up with us. Please understand that, without the information provided by these tools, the technical support team is limited in what they can do to resolve individual issues and they might not be able to fix the problem you reported or provide you with further information.
We will always strive to provide you with verified, safe sources for these programs, but we cannot guarantee their safety. We have no control over where these applications are stored, how they are modified, or how they are protected. You are responsible for the security and integrity of your system. We expressly disclaim all warranties relating to these applications. Put simply, we can’t promise anything about these applications since we have no control over them.
Speccy: We use the free version of Speccy (by Piriform) to provide us with timing information and the temperature of your PC hardware. It is usually requested when someone is reporting game crash issues or blue screens. It allows us to verify whether specific pieces of your hardware, like your GPU or CPU, are overheating, which can lead to unwanted game crashes. You can download the free version of Speccy, and find out more information, from the official website: https://www.piriform.com/speccy.
WInMTR: WinMTR is a free network diagnostic tool we use when troubleshooting any type of connectivity issue. It combines the functionality of various network diagnostics (traceroute and ping) into a single tool. It helps our network team pinpoint where exactly network connectivity problems occur in the network. You might be asked to run a WinMTR anytime you contact Technical Support with a disconnection, lag or latency issue. For additional information on WinMTR you can visit the CNET website here: https://download.cnet.com/WinMTR-Portable/3000-2085_4-75373199.html
HiJackThis: We may ask you to run this program in conjunction with a DxDiag when you first contact Technical Support. In spite of the name, this tool does not hijack anything. It shows us what programs you have running that may be in conflict or interfere with the game you are attempting to play. A wide variety of technical issues can be resolved by turning off applications that conflict with the game. HiJackThis is an open-source tool originally created by Trend-Micro and is available from the open-source website SourceForge. Because this program is open-source, we recommend you only download it from SourceForge. Make sure you pay attention during the download process and you do not download any additional software if prompted to do so. For more information on HiJackThis, visit the SourceForge site: https://sourceforge.net/projects/hjt/.
GPU-Z: This is a free tool that reports information on your graphics hardware and drivers, including the date of any installed drivers, processing power, thermal data to help us look for overheating, and more. We may have you run this program if you are experiencing crashing or lag to ensure your components meet our require minimum system requirements, that your drivers are up to date, and components are not overheating or malfunctioning in other ways that may lead to system instability. The tool is developed and maintained by tech site Tech Power Up and widely regarded among enthusiasts and industry members, with many companies such as Asus including versions in their software or driver packages. For more info on GPU-Z, visit the Tech Power Up site: https://www.techpowerup.com/gpuz/
We will only use any information you provide using the listed applications for technical support purposes. We will not store, save, or share this information beyond what is necessary to provide you with support on the issue you contacted us about.