ASUS Z170-A boot problems

guys,

disclaimer; i've posted about these problems separately in this forum before, thinking i could get better results by isolating and posting the problems separately. this is the grand summation of everything i tried and got

build
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i7 6700k
ASUS Z170-A
Kingston 2.8 16GB 2133mhz
Sandisk Ultra II 480 GB

problem: i cannot restart / get into windows

stuff i did:
0. first off, this is my second mobo. i had a prior Z170-A that had the same issues. thinking it was a bad mobo, i exchanged the board for a new one (this one i'm posting about now)

0.1 i disabled fast boot & secure boot, use AHCI (not SATA) and set the CSM settings in BIOS as recommended by "Megahertz07" in another thread. i'm not gonna post all that here, this is already long enough. (thank you for your wisdom and guidance btw). as for the hard drive being GPT or MBR, i don't know, its whatever windows formats it to be when you install, as i have not changed any settings

0.2 the SSD is plugged into the recommended SATA port marked "SATA_3" and is the only SATA device connected (yes, not even the DVD is connected, as is recommended by other forum members)

1. i created and installed win 7 + USB drivers using the ASUS tool on the website

2. *i also tried just installing win 7 via a legit DVD before (no USB drivers), thinking USB 3.0 drivers wouldn't be needed, but the same problems arose

3. the install goes well

4. i get into win 7 for the first time (name the comp, set password etc)

4.1 *ive installed win 7 in various flavors (with and without USB 3.0 drivers, via DVD and USB) multiple times already and maybe just maybe, its lacking SATA drivers so it cant restart properly, i do step 5

5. the system now has USB 3.0 drivers, so i plug my external USB 3.0 HDD to install LAN drivers, in order to install .NET Framework 4.6.2 because the intel AHCI/RAID and Rapid Storage Technology drivers require it before the AHCI/RAID drivers can be installed

6. i install the AHCI/RAID drivers and it requires a restart

7. *heres where the problems start*

8. i restart and the computer doesn't even show the ASUS logo/POST and i'm treated to a black screen that lasts forever. the longest i've timed it for was 15 minutes and thats when i lost patience and stopped counting

9. i pull the plug and "restart" it that way. upon restart, i get a prompt to use Windows Startup Repair or Start Normally, neither really works. windows startup repair either freezes and or tells me there is nothing wrong and start normally sometimes crashes

thats all i got.

*this is crazy, but maybe its not displaying through the DVI but VGA port instead? maybe thats why i'm not seeing anything? but everything up till now was shown through DVI...... maybe i'm going crazy x.x

**or is this a SSD/HDD issue. ive already tried replacing the board....

***call me crazy, but is this the intentional crippling of win 7 in order to force you onto win 10?

****ASUS just released a new SATA driver on the 15th, will *that* fix things?

sorry for being a pain in the *** and the long read, but please do help. i really don't want to see $1700 in parts go down like this ='(

Just my small two cents worth chaos mate I think it should be that Windows will set up the GPT if not then it is just a matter of doing that yourself. I do that with Partition Wizard t is so easy.

But as for the thing not booting I would try a reinstall mate I know it is pain but looks like you may be better off just trying that again. Just out of interest what media are you using??

If you install using the UEFI bios to a unallocated drive, you will end up with a GPT disk.

If you install in Legacy mode to a unallocated drive, you will end up with a MBR disk.

I always install in Legacy mode on a MBR drive, I see no advantages of UEFI, that`s just me.

2 things I noticed, your ssd should be plugged into sata port #1 not sata port #3

And you do not need a password, they do more harm then good, especially on a new install because you have to reboot so many times.

Just use the motherboard disc, install all the drivers on that disc, it`s not that old and you can check for newer drivers later.

Once that`s done install all the security updates and that`s it. Get back to us when that`s done.