Launcher forces fullscreen and looks terrible

[RedMire]

I recently reinstalled ffxiv on pc. But I'm having an issue where the launcher will force its self into fullscreen (or I guess a maximized window) and does not give an option to make the window smaller. I'll include a imgur link where you can see a screenshot that shows this. Look in the top right and you'll see only a minimize and close button. Because the launcher is blown to a resolution its not normally supposed to be in it looks super pixelated and horrible. For reference, I am using a 4k LG C3 tv and I'm running Windows 11 at 4k 120hz. Maybe it's some kinda glitch with the launcher not liking the 4k resolution? There was a forum thread about this all the way back in 2020 and I'll link that here: https://forum.square-enix.com/ffxiv/threads/420561

The forum above does get responded to by GMs but the thread dies as they stop responding after posting non-helpful suggestions. Please tell me how to get the launcher back to normal!

[RedMire]

Here it is: https://imgur.com/gallery/ecJUoXb

[Votraftur]

Good morning! Thank you for posting in the Final Fantasy XIV Technical Support Forums.

Please try the following:
- Update and reinstall the drivers for your graphics card and sound drivers (if applicable).
- Please try lowering the resolution.
- Perform a clean boot by opening the task manager and select the 'Start up' Tab. Disable everything.
- Please be sure that Final Fantasy XIV is installed to the C: Drive. (If Steam version, make sure both the game and Steam are installed on same drive)
- Please be sure to disable or remove any overlays (Discord, Steam, NVIDIA etc.) as they may interfere with startup.
- Make sure that the Windows OS is fully updated.
- Turn off full-screen optimizations.
- Reinstall game (If steam version, try uninstalling and reinstalling both the game and Steam)

It does appear that some others have found success by altering the text in the cfg files in the local files for FINAL FANTASY XIV, unfortunately we would not be able to officially recommend such steps. If you would like you may try instead, completely removing the local files to see if the configurations for the game reset, This PC > Documents > My Games > FINAL FANTASY XIV - A Realm Reborn. Please note however, this will reset all in-game configurations to their default values.

Thank you once again for visiting the Final Fantasy XIV Technical Support Forums!