XP SP2 and larger cluster sizes.

[TheNuker]

Right now there's a known bug that if the boot partition uses any cluster size larger than 4k, XP with SP2 refuses to boot up. AFAIK, the only way to get around this is by installing either vanilla WinXP or XP with SP1 and latter upgrade to SP2, but I don't have neither of the previously mentioned versions. So, let's say I want to change the cluster size of a SP2 partition, does anyone know of a way to get around this restriction?
Also, is there a way to set cluster size during the windows instalation? Can I do that entering the repair console and formating through there?
And for the bright ones that will ask "why change cluster size?", the answer is simple, I want to .

 

[drizzt81]

You could use two partitions to get around the problem. WinXP is still on a small 4k-cluster sized partition.

I do not think that there is a way to select the custer size during the installation, unless you are using some form of unattended install.

 

[Madwand]

You can use third-party tools such as Acronis Disk Director to change the cluster size from a boot CD. Such operations are always risky though, so the preferred way to do them is to use the same product to copy the partition elsewhere (ideally another drive) before working on it further.

As you can create and pre-format partitions on which the OS will be installed, you can implicitly set the cluster size before installation. However, if certain cluster sizes are not supported for boot partitions, I'd guess that the installation would either not permit it, or just fail at some point.