Windows installer doesn't work?

I must have misspoke, my apologies. I really appreciate how patient you've been. I've been troubleshooting this all day and I'm getting quite tired.

Anyway the ssd was originally listed first in the boot priority order. Next it had set the install device, finally the uefi one. I made the uefi install device first in the boot priority order so that the ssd is second. Just to be sure I go through the boot manager and force it to boot the uefi drive. It will boot the install drive and I can begin installing windows. I go through the setup, skipping the product key, accepting the terms and selecting custom install. I format the drive so it's totally unallocated space and press next. Then let the installer copy the necessary files to the ssd, install the updates and everything, and finish up. When it prompts me to reboot I disconnect the usb so it doesnt loop back. Since I shouldn't need the usb after it finishes running, it's easier to unplug it than force the ssd to boot. then it restarts and it should theoretically begin the process of installing windows on the ssd. 

It will try to boot from the ssd first now because the usb drive isnt connected, but then it says that it cant find any bootable media. But there were files transferred to the ssd and you can see them. Space is taken up on the ssd but it won't boot. I tried disabling CSM but then the ssd disappears from the boot priority order tab and my only choice is to boot into the uefi installer again. If I want to see the ssd I have to reenable CSM. I didnt mean that I was able to access the ssd with CSM disabled, and trying to boot with only the ssd prompts me to enable CSM.

I can update the bios via asus ez flash and am doing so now, I'll let you know if that fixes the issue. My next test is to switch out all the other hardware and test booting from that rig instead of this one. If that doesnt work I'll also try going through the install usb again on that rig, reformatting the ssd again, and run the setup, and then see if it begins setting up windows after the restart at the end or if it still doesnt detect any bootable media from it.

So there is a WIndows Boot Manager listed first in your Boot Priority order tab? I had thought you said it has SSD first.

You said the SSD is not detected when you disable CSM unless you enable it another way. How is that?

Can you update your UEFI firmware without having WIndows installed?

You can try installing on another drive, or move the SSD to another PC to install to it alone, then move it back. Windows 10 is remarkably adaptive to new hardware without needing adaptive restore. If it will start it will swap out all drivers requiring several restarts.

The boot manager works fine. When I have the uefi installer plugged in, I can go into the boot manager and set it to run first, and also force it to run. CSM and fast boot are both disabled during install, though disabling CSM makes the ssd unavailable so I have to enable it after running the installer so I can then select the ssd.

I did check the uefi firmware and it's out of date. I'll update and see if that fixes anything. Maybe the system can't detect that the installation files are on the ssd because of out of date firmware? I dont think it's a bad drive as I've tested it and the drive seems okay. I scanned it for errors and nothing came up, and I can use it as a storage device just fine, but trying to boot from it still doesn't work. Everything seems to be in order until I actually try to boot from the ssd after installing, which is when the system says there is no bootable media on it.

The problem is that WIndows Boot Manager is apparently not appearing which must be always set first to boot on UEFI installs. If it isn't present before install, it should get invoked during install. Can you find it in the Boot Priority order or add it manually? Consult your Motherboard manual - or Support if it's within a year of purchase.

UEFI Setup settings must be UEFI enabled, CSM disabled, Secure and Fast Boot disabled until after install if necessary, Windows Boot Manager always first in Boot Priority.

What is the UEFI firmware version installed now? Check for newer on Motherboard support downloads page.

If nothing else works change from UEFI to Legacy or CSM, boot as plain Flash stick (difference illustrated below), keep SSD set first in priority.

But this is not as secure and not using UEFI is like turning off all odern features in a car.

The problem could be the SSD. We do see bad ones. You can test it with the bootable diagnostics from it's maker: https://merabheja.com/ssd-health-monitor/

Hey Greg, appreciate the quick response. I followed the instructions to that guide. I have no peripherals besides a keyboard, mouse, monitor and the ssd. I cleaned the drive again. Fast boot is disabled, the SATA controller is set to AHCI and uefi is on. I  have tried setting the uefi device to boot first, as well as manually running it through the boot manager. I've done the same with the ssd after installing windows. The same issue still occurs. After the install finishes, I unplug the usb and restart as instructed. Theres no usb so it tries to boot from the next device in line, the ssd, which gives me a black screen that says "please insert proper boot device, or insert boot media into selected device and press a key".

I have had this issue in the past when accidentally booting from the empty drive instead of the installer, but then all I had to do was run the usb through the boot menu, run the installer once and it ran fine, restarted and proceeded to continue setting up windows. But with this ssd, no matter how many times I've run the installer, it will recognize the ssd just not boot from it. The install program finishes without any errors, I can select it via the boot manager so the ssd should theoretically be bootable but the PC can't find the appropriate files on the drive.

The weirdest part to me is that I can plug in my existing hdd, boot windows as normal and go into the ssd in file manager, and see the files that the installer put on the ssd. But yet it isnt being recognized as a bootable device.