Unable to install Python and GDAL (DLL load failed)

To successfully load GDAL from python in Windows 7, I follow these steps, which should be quite generic:

1. Install python of your choosing, I used v2.7.2 x64 downloaded from the official website
2. Run python from command line to determine the compiler version used to build python (mine shows this message: Python 2.7.2 (default, Jun 12 2011, 14:24:46) [MSC v.1500 64 bit (AMD64)] on win32)
3. Download the corresponding SDK from this link: http://www.gisinternals.com/release.php. Select the correct package for your python (if using the above configuration, then MSVC2008 x64 release link should be selected).
4. From the subpage, download the following:
   • GDAL core components
   • Python bindings
5. Install GDAL core components, add the installation dir to path, and add new environment variable 'GDAL_DATA' pointing to data subdirectory of GDAL installation.
6. Install python bindings
7. You should be profiting from them by now :)

The step by step procedure is great. But I had the same issue.

This was caused because my PATH variable has other paths where a same named dll was used. If you put the c:\program files\gdal before the other paths in PATH, it works fine!

After searching and making many steps from the above answers with no result, i finally got install to Win7 gdal by using the installer from Unofficial Windows Binaries for Python Extension Packages

Just scroll down the page and find GDAL section and get your version installer.