Changing vista cluster size without DVD

[meffy]

What im trying to do is change the location of the boot drive so i can change my cluster size to 64.Ive did some searches on the forum but most of the posts require the use of a new HD or the vista dvd which i broke by accident.Is this possible by simply using DD or any other method?

This will be done on an ALREADY installed vista x64 ultimate

[K0LO]

meffy:

If you broke your Vista DVD then you can download an ISO of the repair components from here (http://neosmart.net/blog/2008/windows-vista-recovery-disc-download/). Use this in place of your DVD to repair the BCD. Or, you can borrow a Vista DVD from a friend for repair purposes.

You may be referring to this thread (http://www.wilderssecurity.com/showthread.php?t=184377). It's rather long and we stumble around for a while trying to figure this out, but eventually succeed. The essential info is around page 3. A quick summary is:

1. Create a new boot partition with 4k clusters
2. Move the file bootmgr and the directory /boot to the new boot partition
3. Make the boot partition active
4. Boot from a Vista DVD and examine the BCD settings. You will need to reset the pointers to the correct partitions for:
The Windows Boot Manager {bootmgr} to "boot"
The Windows Boot Loader {default} to "partition=c:"
The osdevice to "partition=C:"
The Memory Diagnostic {memdiag} to "boot"
5. After you get Vista successfully booting from the new boot partition, then change the cluster size on the main Vista partition.
6. Run chkdsk /f and a defrag routing after conversion

I would strongly recommend a complete backup using True Image before attempting this.

[meffy]

Very weird problems here

I originally had a C: with both boot n vista files in it
After doing what was on page #3,I ended up with a C(Boot drive) and a D(Vista files)
Booting into windows i see C(Vista files) and D(Boot files)
Booting back into the cd i see C(Boot drive) and a D(Vista files)

Secondly,I could set C: to active using the vista recovery disc but when i rebooted it reported it as non active.

Nevertheless it still allows me to boot into vista which is a plus..But i did a full reformat just to ensure that the C and D thingy doesnt affect anything in future;/

[K0LO]

meffy:

That's what you should have seen. When you boot from the DVD, the active partition will be called C:, and when you boot from Vista, the Vista partition will get the C: drive letter. That's normal. Drive letters are a figment of the Windows "imagination"; they are not absolute but relative. They don't exist except when the OS is running.

Hopefully now you will be able to change the cluster size on the Vista partition.