XP SP 2 & 64bit installation problem with cluster size other than 4k

Finally all the 64bit drivers I need are available. So thought I would finally install the XP 64bit, I brought ages ago, on my PC. Very simple except I want to use a cluster size on the disk other than the XP default of 4k.

So formatted my Raptor 150Gb for cluster size of 8k, everything else standard. Put in the XP 64bit CD. It finds my hard disk and I tell it to leave the current file system intact. It installs that basic files and then reboots. On reboot I get the error msg "A Disk Read Error Occurred. Press CTRL+ALT+DEL to restart".

After further testing I found that if I get the XP 64bit installation to setup the partition or do it myself also with the default 4k cluster size, then XP64 installs fine without a problem. Also tested with other cluster sizes and found the same behavior.

Then my memory woke up and I remembered that I had the same problem with an XP SP2 slipstream disk I had made, but on another Western Digital drive. At the time I thought I had just screwed up the slipstream procedure and just went back to using my SP1 installation disk which has never shown these problems.

I have searched around the Internet and these forums but could not find a mention of the problem. The closest thing was people having problems with installing raid drives. I am not using my drive in a raid config.

So my question is whether it is a known issue that XP, post SP1, won't install on a partition with cluster size other than 4k? Or is it an issue with my hardware. I have tired the same thing on some of my other drives and they have had the same problem. But then they are all Western Digital SATA drives. Is the installation procedure I have used faulty? Have other people been able to install XP64 on a SATA drive with cluster size other than 4k?

Please no comments to the effect of 'Why do you want to use a different cluster size to the default, it's rubbish'. I don't need a discussion on the merits of different cluster sizes. I just want to find out where I might be going wrong.

Thanks in advance for any advise.


Athlon 4000+
1 Gb Corsair XMS
Asus A8N-SLI Premium 1009
WD Raptor 150 Gb
Gforce 7800 GT
Audigy 4
Enermax Liberty 500W

I could be wrong here, but I don't think that I am. As far as I know, you can only install XP on a drive with a cluster size up to 4K, but not over. For one, the Windows pagefile is not compatible with anything over a 4K cluster size on NTFS (again, just pretty sure). Secondly, anything over a 4K cluster size for NTFS cannot be defragmented (again again, just pretty sure :] ). You'll be able to use 2K, 512B, whatever, but not go above 4K.

Like Jon mentioned, you would need to perform the XP install using the default 4k cluster size... then later use a program like Partiton Magic to alter the size to your liking. And since you asked for "no comments to the effect of Why do you want to use a different cluster size to the default, it's rubbish"... then I won't get into explaining why you're wasting your time.

Partition Magic 8
http://www.symantec.com/home_homeoffice/products/overview.jsp?pcid=sp&pvid=pm80

Key Features
http://www.symantec.com/home_homeoffice/products/features.jsp?pcid=sp&pvid=pm80

Thanks for your resposes so far. And you're right, it may be a waste of time. But what stops me from letting this drop, and just using 4k. Is that I have been using 8k on this and other HDD's with XP installations and have not suffered this problem before. I have not had to use 'partition magic' or any other product. I just pre-format the HDD with the cluster size I want and then install XP.

But then I am using an SP1 installation disk that I assume writes an SP1 MBR that does not have this problem. And I then install SP2 and I assume it must leave the MBR alone as it still works fine.

So does anyone know if this is a new development post SP2? That is not being able to install XP on a HDD with a cluster size > 4k?

And yeah it might seem a bit rude, but I know how threads can get off topic so easily and I really don't want to start a disscussion about the merits of different cluster sizes. I know generaly that it is thought to make not much of a difference.

But it does not stop me asking why the thing does not work now. Is it not the reason that most of us hang out in this forum, because of our desire to tweak things that supposedly can't be tweak, just to see what happens, even if it that is nothing at all... Sorry got a bit philosophical there, won't happen again, promise.

XP pre-SP2 disks did allow for 8K cluster sizes. SP2 is known to have broken this...I came across it a while back on another forum. There are some files you can replace on the SP2 disk using the pre-SP2 disk and it will install fine. I just have no idea where I saw it or which files they were, sorry.