Now I read on SevenForums that sometimes this error can be caused by conflicting IRQs. I ran msinfo32 and noticed that my sound card and my network card were both on IRQ16. Could this be the cause of my problems? It is very weird because I see another "high definition audio controller" on IRQ18, and when I install an older driver that fixes the sound, the card is still on the same IRQ. Should I somehow reassign my sound card to a different, non-shared IRQ? If so how would I do this and Wwould this fix the problem?
Here is the thread in question (I know the thread is about 64-bit but I have the same problem on my 32-bit system)
http://www.sevenforums.com/sound-audio/22369-realtek-windows-7-64rtm-crackle-static-popping.html
And here is a screenshot of my IRQs