T61p New HD-->Windows 7 x64 fiasco?

I just replaced my Thinkpad T61p 8891-CTO's original hard drive with a Western Digital 500GB 7200RPM (WD5000BPKT) and attempted to install Windows 7 Pro x64. I've previously clean installed Windows 7 Pro x86 a few times on the original HD and never had any trouble, but this has turned into a fiasco.

I downloaded the Windows 7 Pro x64 ISO from this link: http://msft.digitalrivercontent.net/win/X17-59186.iso. This is version 6.1.7601 Service Pack 1 Build 7601. I installed the latest driver versions from the T61p driver matrix over at Lenovo.

The first problem that presented itself was that the Soundmax Audio driver from Lenovo wouldn't install.

"No problem," I thought, "I'll just run Windows Update and see if it can find a compatible driver."

Windows Update wouldn't run. Google told me this is a fairly common problem, but none of the 3 or 4 common fixes worked on my computer.

I finally found a post that suggested updating Windows Defender to get Windows Update to work. Windows Defender wouldn't start.

Another suggested installed MS Security Essentials. It wouldn't install.

So to recap: I have no sound, no way of updating the system, and no way of protecting it.

Is there a more stable Windows 7 build with which I can try clean installing again? Any other suggestions? (My tech knowledge is medium level, so I would be very thankful for clear, step-by-step instructions for any fixes.)

 

I've made an inroads. I found a reference to people who had just installed 1TB drives having this problem. I initially didn't follow up this lead, because I only have a 500 GB drive, but then I found this page that specifically talks about Western Digital drives. Error Messages Appear During Windows Update, When Inserting Card or Using Live Mail | HP® Support

Again, it was only 750GB or 1TB, but since I was out of ideas I said a Hail Mary and installed the driver linked there. It worked, and I can now run Windows Update, Windows Defender, and install MSE.

Remaining issue: no audio due to SoundMax driver issue.

 

This it the Advanced Format bug. You'll need to use the MS hotfix here: An update that improves the compatibility of Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 with Advanced Format Disks is available

 

Thanks for the link, Colonel. This fix is an interesting conundrum because when I was having the Windows Update issue (before installing the driver from HP), I couldn't install even a manual Windows hotfix. I had tried to install this package last night, but the problem was preventing me from using the solution. I will definitely download it now, though.

I prefer to do "clean" clean installs, but I finally caved and downloaded ThinkVantage System Update, which installed two Microsoft Hotfixes that fixed the audio driver issue. For the record, they were:
KB2661796 "0x000000C4" Stop error when you enable Driver Verifier in Windows 7 or in Windows Server 2008 R2
KB2615763 "0x000000D1" Stop error when you connect a USB composite device to a computer that is running Windows 7 or Windows Server 2008