Unable to run in windowed or borderless

e3ge08 · Jun 17, 2018

Hello all,
I've been trying to get ED to run in borderless mode so I can tab out to Captains Log, EDDB etc without the delay in screen changing but every time I change the setting from Fullscreen to Borderless in-game it kicks back to my desktop (with ED still running) and I can't get the game screen back until the settings have reverted. Same happens with windowed mode and I've also tried changing the settings from EDProfiler to no success.
Can anyone shed some light on this?
Cheers,
Cmdr e3gle08

Nick Sticks · Jun 17, 2018

What's your PC and Graphics card specs?

You could try lowering your graphics settings and maybe monitor sync speed to see if that makes a difference.

e3ge08 · Jun 19, 2018

I’m running a core i7-4790 3.6ghz with a GTX 960.
I’ve tried running it at mid settings at 1080p, all the refresh rates I can and it still doesn’t work.
When I apply the settings it flicks the screen like it does for a resolution change but then shows the desktop as though the game has been minimised but unable to click on the desktop. Then after 15 seconds it kicks back to the game in full screen.
I’ve tried turning off the Windows gaming feature and the GeForce overlay to no avail.
This is bugging me mainly because I have had it working before but I don’t know what could have changed to not allow borderless mode.
cheers,
Chris

EUS · Jun 19, 2018

You have to be patient, the screen will come back, I don't remember if it was time, or time + alt-tab'ing which brought it back.

But why are you going back and forth from borderless to fullscreen?
Why not just leave it on borderless?

DNA-Decay · Jun 19, 2018

Boring - but have you tried re installing the game?

Borderless Windowed is definitely the way to go.
“Works On Mine”
I just wish the Joystick and controls worked when ED doesn’t have focus.
At the moment I can’t throttle down while reading EDDB.

znôrt · Jun 19, 2018

e3ge08 said:
've also tried changing the settings from EDProfiler to no success.

i would have recommended this (or editing config files by hand). if that doesn't work ... something odd in your setup. you best contact support.

e3ge08 · Jun 19, 2018

If I wait after applying the borderless change then it just times out and resets back to full screen. I’m not going back and forth, I’m trying to get borderless working at all!

EUS · Jun 19, 2018

Screen and display settings options

Updated: Sunday 8th November 2015
You can change your display settings without entering the game using a file in the following location:

%LOCALAPPDATA%\Frontier Developments\Elite Dangerous\Options\Graphics\DisplaySettings.xml
Open this file in notepad (or a similar text editor) you can change various parameters that affect how the game is displayed. Please note: We always recommend making a backup of this file beforehand so you can reset it if you need to.

ScreenWidth/ScreenHeight options are measured in pixels, and are best set to the resolution of your monitor as seen below:

<ScreenWidth>1680</ScreenWidth>
<ScreenHeight>1050</ScreenHeight>

The Fullscreen option can be changed to one of the following lines for the desired effect. Often changing to Windowed Mode or Borderless Window Mode allows most people to start the game up and modify the settings as normal.

<FullScreen>0</FullScreen> = Windowed Mode
<FullScreen>1</FullScreen> = Fullscreen Mode
<FullScreen>2</FullScreen> = Borderless Window Mode

e3ge08 · Jun 20, 2018

EUS said:
Screen and display settings options

Updated: Sunday 8th November 2015
You can change your display settings without entering the game using a file in the following location:

%LOCALAPPDATA%\Frontier Developments\Elite Dangerous\Options\Graphics\DisplaySettings.xml
Open this file in notepad (or a similar text editor) you can change various parameters that affect how the game is displayed. Please note: We always recommend making a backup of this file beforehand so you can reset it if you need to.

ScreenWidth/ScreenHeight options are measured in pixels, and are best set to the resolution of your monitor as seen below:

<ScreenWidth>1680</ScreenWidth>
<ScreenHeight>1050</ScreenHeight>

The Fullscreen option can be changed to one of the following lines for the desired effect. Often changing to Windowed Mode or Borderless Window Mode allows most people to start the game up and modify the settings as normal.

<FullScreen>0</FullScreen> = Windowed Mode
<FullScreen>1</FullScreen> = Fullscreen Mode
<FullScreen>2</FullScreen> = Borderless Window Mode

I’ve just given this a try and no luck. It loads the launcher, but won’t display the game. The icon is in the taskbar and I can hear the music playing but I can’t switch into the game.

amcb10 · Jun 20, 2018

Did you have a second monitor by any chance and now you don't? Actually sounds like it is trying to output to a second monitor that isn,t there which is why you still hear the music.

Try to re-identify your monitor in graphics settings and that may do it.

Bounder · Jun 20, 2018

Yes, ED has permanent bugs regarding multi-monitor systems, which FD seem to have no intention of ever addressing. The game will not let you run in a full window that spans monitors - the best you can do is select a resolution that is no bigger than the largest res one monitor supports, and then stretch it to cover the full desktop area using a 3rd-party app. This results in a horribly skewed aspect ratio, and terrible aliasing, but FD just will not support custom window sizes, like almost every other game has since the turn of the last century. Most people only have one monitor, and most of those with two or more use the others for pronhu- i mean, 'Netflix' - and other stuff, rather than spanning their ED display, so it isn't worth the 5 minute code change that would be required to enable it to run in any window size.