Greetings adventurer,

I'm glad to hear that you were able to fix this issue by removing the game's files. While I'm not sure what exactly could be causing this issue, I would generally recommend installing FINAL FANTASY XIV (and Steam as well) onto your primary C: drive, as having the game installed elsewhere can cause certain issues. If this error appears again, you can also try performing a clean boot on your PC by opening your Task Manager and disabling all applications listed in the 'Start Up' tab. You can also try temporarily disabling any antivirus programs or the Firewall on the PC for testing purposes. These steps will help to minimize the chance of another program conflicting with the game.

I hope this helps! Thank you for visiting the FINAL FANTASY XIV Technical Support Forums.