OS X :: SL Will Not Install On Intel Mac Mini?

I have a 1.83 ghz intel mac mini. it has a busted internal cd drive, i use a sony dl dvd burner and 2 external hard drives. I have a retail copy of snow leopard. In the instructions, the guide says sl will install from an external optical drive. Heres what I have tried so far.

Installing from external optical drive- when i try this it goes through the normal verifications, i agree to eula, when i get to the grey screen with spinning apple, after a few minutes a "no" sign pops up, like a no smoking sign and my computer restarts and takes me to the login screen.

I thought maybe it was a disk space issues so i backed up, erased some items and freed up about 20 gb, giving me 30 gb of free disk space. tried again with installation and same thing happens.

next i went into disk utility and verified and repaired permissions, which was a lot, tried again and same thing. next i verified disk. disk is ok.

next i started thinking perhaps its the disk. so i tried to install sl on my moms unibody macbook. installation went fine, she is running 10.6 like a champ.

So then i decided to try a remote installation. i unplugged all usb devices, including the dvd burner and ran the remote install assistant. im using and ethernet cable connection, with the 2 computers plugged directly to each other, and i can browse both computers files from one another. when i restart the mini with the assistant running on the macbook, when i hold down option to select the start up device, the only option listed is starting from the mini's own hard drive and not the macbook.

I've tried everything i could think out with asking. But now i would really like some. If any one has any suggestions, i am all ears. Im gonna be heading for school now, and will respond with what ever I can after 10pm pacific.