W520 - never fully restarts so installs always fail

Question

My w520 has been running fine for about two years, then today the Windows 8 install seemed to fail (after a restart, it tried to repair the OS, got in an enternal loop, then nothing). I tried a bunch of different things only to resolve that I needed to reinstall the OS. I've tried to do this now on three different drives but all fail the same way as follows:
I can boot the Windows 8.1 (also tried Windows 8) installer from a bootable USB and start the install, but after the first initial steps (copy files, installing, installing features, instaslling packages), when it wants to restart, the w520 goes to a black screen (LCD still on, just black) and hangs for a long time (20 minutes+). I do a hard shutdown and then power it back up but the install tells me it fails and I have to do the install again.
I've tried this on multiple drives and using both Windows 8.1 & Windows 8 using different install media & USB drives. Since i get the same result no matter the USB drive, media or target install drive, I suspect something else is failing. I've tried running the LINUX bootable diag... it shows some stuff that it appears to be running some tests, but the screen ultimately goes black (LCD off, but power still on) and doesn't come back.
Ideas?
AC
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ThinkPad w520 | Intel i7 2.5Ghz | 2x 512GB Crucial SSD | 16GB | NVIDIA GeForce Quadro 2000M 2GB | 6.9 Windows Exp Index
Ultrabay DVD + modular Ultrabay 256GB Crucial SSD SATA
Win7 Ultimate x64 | Windows Server 2008 R2 | Win8 Release Preview
ThinkPad x200s | Core2 Duo 1.86 | 256GB Crucial SSD | 4GB | Intel Mobile Chipset Video | 3.4 Windows Exp. Index
Win7 Ultimate x64 | Windows Server 2008 R2

Answer 1

That's too bad... due to a project I'm on, I can't be without a machine. This laptop is 2+yrs old and was due for a refresh. With the w530 on a 4+ week shipping schedule and no solid eta for ordering the w540 (other than rumors of January 7, 2014), I got a MacBook Pro.
The timing of this & the poor Lenovo options that resulted in me being without a machine for 1-2 months pushed this long time Lenovo customer elsewhere. The allure of a retina screen & the PCIeX SSD drive (which totally made up for the 16GB cap), not to mention 0.5" thinner & 1.5lbs lighter than the w530 pushed me to try the MBP (not to mention the 14day return policy that doesn't start until Christmas so I effectively get to try it out until January 7). If it doesn't cut it I can return it and order the w540...
AC
============
ThinkPad w520 | Intel i7 2.5Ghz | 2x 512GB Crucial SSD | 16GB | NVIDIA GeForce Quadro 2000M 2GB | 6.9 Windows Exp Index
Ultrabay DVD + modular Ultrabay 256GB Crucial SSD SATA
Win7 Ultimate x64 | Windows Server 2008 R2 | Win8 Release Preview
ThinkPad x200s | Core2 Duo 1.86 | 256GB Crucial SSD | 4GB | Intel Mobile Chipset Video | 3.4 Windows Exp. Index
Win7 Ultimate x64 | Windows Server 2008 R2