Good point on the activation key and mem module. I will try that.
I am unable to enter Raid config. Message may or may not state "entering raid console after post completes" (depending on how soon you hit ctl G)
But goes no further.
to answer other questions: W7 was a clean install, no battery back up on raid, I did check cables but doesn't hurt to check again. all hardware changes were done before I started testing OS's and did the Bios update.