Nf750-g55 problem installing windows7 home premium 64bit

Question

so i am attempting to build a htpc for a friend. got all the parts in the mail and started assembling the thing. installed the the m/b, cpu, hard drive, DVD drive, and power supply into the case and hooked up a old VGA CRT monitor and PS/2 keyboard and mouse. attempted to load the OS (specifically Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit 1-Pack for System Builders - OEM)(purchased from newegg) which is where my problems started.  pardon the length here but i will try to be as detailed as possible to describe the issues.
initial boot, everything powers up goes through the MB splash screen and it asks for bootable media.
i put the install disk in the DVD and reboot, it comes up and boots from the DVD and brings up the windows install desktop. copies files, expands files, installs features and updates then auto shuts down to reboot.
on reboot it brings up the desktop and starts flashing the 3 little dots next to the words completing installation. it does this for approximately 2 Min's then the computer crashes and app 20 seconds later the monitor led turns from green to amber for loss of video signal.
computer reboots with MB splash screen then brings up the windows shut down unexpectedly screen "what do you want to do?"
if i start windows normally it brings up the windows splash screen with the 4 fireflies that turn into the windows icon, blinks once then black screens. few secs later the monitor led goes amber and the system reboots.
if i start in safe mode it will go Through the windows splash screen to the desktop and gives me the message "cannot finish installation in safe mode please reboot"
as of this time i have swapped the memory out for the smaller module listed in my Sig. i started with a 4GB module of gskill ripjaw but have read that windows7 sometimes doesn't like more then 2 GB installed so used a spare i had laying around. i also tried another harddrive, i have run memtest86 as well as a harddrive diagnostic on the installed drive. i have swapped the drive sata cables around a bit. currently have hd in sata1 and DVD in sata4.
i reflashed the bios from v1.3 to v1.5 with no change in the symptoms.
i also unplugged everything from the front panel of the case except for the power/reset switches and power/hdd LEDs. no overclocking. insured the overclock dips on the MB were set in the off position.
i also have tried to install both 32 and 64 bit versions of 7 ultimate. both fail in the exact same way. however a copy of server2008 32bit installed just fine.
i made a tech support ticket with msi and hit the highlights in my post there, the response was that this type of concern is typically caused by memory issues but since i had both swapped in another memory module and run memtest that it was likely a MB issue and i should contact my reseller for an exchange.
before making an rma request i wanted to touch base here and see if anyone might have a solution that wont require me waiting another week or so to get this thing up and running. it almost sounds like i may have a driver type issue that is causing things to wig out on me, since it boots OK in safe mode but not in normal mode. but i really dont have any idea on how to test that theory.
in advance thank you for any suggestions

Answer 1

well i tried out a diferent dvd and cable today and no go on a resolution that way.  and yes the ram module is in the dimm1 slot
as a hail mary i stuck my HD into my other computer and installed the os that way and then ran the msi driver disk as well before parking the HD back in the other case. amazingly the thing booted up just fine and loaded a bunch of drivers. everything seemed ok until i rebooted and got a bsod during loading into windows. at least now i have a direction to go with. the minidump info listed the nvlddmkm.sys driver as the fault. from a quick websearch this seems to be a issue with the nvidia driver sets. i am currently attempting to locate a stable driver set version. will post back with either success or failure results