Help Recover N7 2012 Wifi without adb? Thumb drive maybe?

[oneamp]

I know there are a lot of "help I bricked my *****" threads out there, sorry to add another. But, I just need a nudge in the right direction, so thanks for reading this.

I've got a Nexus 7 2012 Wifi version. At some point it became boot looped, but now it just displays the white Google logo endlessly. I can get into Recovery Mode however. The thing I can't do, is get my PC to recognize that it exists. I've attached it to two different Windows PCs. I don't even get a yellow triangle in the Device manager, there's nothing, no sound plays, no indication that I've attached a USB device at all. I've tried installing/uninstalling drivers, changing ports and changing cables, but nothing happens.

But, I've got clockwork mod recovery (version 6.0.4.3) installed and I can get the N7 to see a thumb drive when I attach one using a USB OTG cable. I tried putting a factory image on the thumb drive and I can try to install it, but when I do, Clockwork gives me a "Installing update...." followed instantly by a "Installation aborted." message. I've tried different builds, but nothing works.

I've spent the better part of a day trying to bring it back to life. Ideas are appreciated. Thanks.