Windows Update failure after Windows 7 system restore from SSD to larger HDD.

Sony VAIO laptop running Windows 7 Home Premium. HDD was replaced with SSD some time ago with the system running perfectly. The SSD was running out of space, so I decided to replace it with a WD 750GB HDD. I used the Windows Backup system image tool to

create a system image and a system repair disk. Replaced the SSD with the new HDD, booted with the system repair disk and restored the system image onto the new HDD. All seems to work well, except for Windows Update,

Upon launching Windows Update after the system restore the shield is red instead of green, even though the settings are "Install updates automatically (recommended)", as they were prior to the system backup and restore. Upon clicking the "Check for Updates"

button, a dialog pops up that says "Windows Update cannot currently check for updates, because the service is not running. You may need to restart your computer". A check in the Services console shows that the Windows Update service is started, as are all

its dependencies.

The Fixit tool seems to think that Windows Update is fine. I've tried deleting various Windows Update reg keys and re-running the Fixit tool, but without success.

I've tried stopping and restarting all of the related services, rebooting, etc.

I've also tried running the Acronis bare metal backup and restore, with exactly the same results--a red shield in Windows Update, same behaviours as with the Windows system backup and restore.

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