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Upgrading to 4K (Advanced Format) Hard Drive (Windows Update Problem)
I am running Windows 7 Professional, 64-bit, on a Lenovo W500 ThinkPad laptop. I am trying to upgrade my Seagate 320GB hard-disk drive to a Western Digital (WD) Blue 1TB. The new drive has 4K sectors (Advanced Format), as opposed to 512-byte sectors, which appears to be causing some problems with Windows. The operating system loads, however Windows Update will not work, and various programs give strange prompts.
The old drive was cloned to the new using Acronis True Image WD Edition. Proper alignment was verified using Acronis WD Align. I have to clone the old drive; clean-installing Windows is not an option.
Microsoft has this article for what seems to be my problem: An update that improves the compatibility of Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 with Advanced Format Disks is available. I already have run this file (prior to cloning), however the problem remains.
I have read on-line that it might help to install Intel RST 9.6 or later. My Device manager currently lists Intel ICH9M-E/M SATA AHCI Controller (under IDE ATA/ATAPI controllers); it is driver version 8.9.2.1002. I have tried to upgrade the driver, however without success: I simply receive the message, "Windows has determined the driver software for your device is up to date."
Help is greatly appreciated. Thank you very much.