"Boot controller details could not be fetched"

You should be able to set the boot order in BIOS the way you desire and then if you want to boot from an alternate device, at POST you should get a boot device option. I cannot remember which Fn key it is on Dell but the 2950 supported that I am certain.

Overall I do not know if this will solve you main issue but at least you can try the Boot configuration solution.

If you are using the SMTD/SBUU DVD anyway, boot to it (must be listed first - and enabled - in the boot sequence) and let SBUU configure RAID using the wizards.

Are you using a PERC 5/6 or a third-party card?  If a PERC, and using SMTD doesn't work, try clearing the NVRAM (BIOS settings) using the jumpers on the motherboard.  Also, make sure that Integrated RAID is enabled in the BIOS.

Booting from the SMTD is no problem, and all this happens when I let SBUU configure the RAID. And yes I am using a Perc 5 and integrated Raid is enabled.
According to the manual NVRAM should only be cleared when the system doesnt boot anymore, but it does boot.

In the Bios options of booting sequence, CDrom is now number one, Then a USB stick I inserted, then a NIC and then HD C. No mention of RAID here.

"According to the manual NVRAM should only be cleared when the system doesnt boot anymore, but it does boot."

Clearing the NVRAM is not reserved only for no-boot situations.  The BIOS keeps a list of its hardware and configurations, if this list becomes corrupt, clearing the NVRAM forces the BIOS to rebuild this "list" and can remove any prejudice for hardware/settings that don't work or cannot be updated/changed.  Problems with installing new hardware - processors and memory in particular - are particularly common issues fixed by clearing the NVRAM ... not just in a no-boot situation, but with recognizing size, specs, etc.

Well it makes no difference to clear NVRam. Might it be a BIOS problem? My current BIOS is v 1.5.1 and 2.7.0 is now available.I would already have done it when I had a USB-stick available during Christmas, and strange enough only options to update BIOS from USB or Diskette are offered, not from CD.

I created a bootable USB with the new BIOS, only to find out that I cannot boot from USB. I checked online and found that I had to apply some changes in my current BIOS but everything was allright already. Despite that my only boot options in BIOS are CDRom, HD C and NIC.

Then SBUU booted and offered me the option to try the Lifecycle Controller. That one failed with the message 'Machine doesnt support USC-boot'.
So I am somewhat stuck.

Thanks again.
As for the repository, I was just creating one, I suppose that I can burn a SUU from it. Or is the SUU another downloadable file?

The USB was in while booting, but it nevertheless didnt appear in the boot order.

However, I hadnt tried yet to do Ctl R, but I have done now and now there seems to be a raid being built.

You can download the entire repository (called SUU - fits on a DL-DVD), or you can create a custom repository  using Repository Manager.

Check BIOS settings for USB - make sure all ports are turned on and set to Auto for emulation type.  This system can boot to USB, regardless of BIOS version.

I will look up the SUU, thanks for that.

Wrt to the USB-booting, I have seen on many places that it is possible to boot from USB.  My emulation type  for the USB is set to auto. In Integrated devices USB is set to 'All ports are on', but nevertheless it isnt offered as an option to boot from.

After the RAID build completed I did a contingency check which ended at 99%. Maybe that is normal. I thought I'd try the Windows setup thereafter but it refused to, complaining about the Nic cabling (the machine is standalone in this phase). So I switched off the NIC as the third boot option, and now it complains that there is nothing to boot from. It looks like the BIOS is messed up.

"Well it makes no difference to clear NVRam. Might it be a BIOS problem?"

Did you actually clear the NVRAM then?  This is usually how BIOS-related issues are usually resolved (although, yes, some BIOS code corruption can't be fixed by clearing the BIOS - sometimes updating the BIOS can fix it, but sometimes updating the BIOS when the BIOS is corrupt can just crash the system altogether).  You'll KNOW if you cleared the NVRAM successfully by the BIOS/POST message indicating the jumper is installed (put NVRAM jumper on CLR, then power on until you get that  message, then power off, replace the jumper, then power back on).

"I thought I'd try the Windows setup thereafter but it refused to, complaining about the Nic cabling (the machine is standalone in this phase)."

What was the exact message?  Windows Setup shouldn't care if it is connected to a network or not.

Re: NVRam, the message I got on screen was something like "NVRam jumper is set". Then I switched off the machine and put the jumper back and didnt get that message anymore.

The seciond message was needlessly confusing. My fault: Windows setup never started at all because the system wouldnt boot because of the cabling. I know Windows doesnt care about networks, while setting up.

Can I run this SUU disk from within the SBUU?

Sorry, I have already found it in the SBUU although it remains unclear whether with updating the firmware, also the BIOS will be updated.

You don't "run" SUU from within SBUU ... when you boot to SBUU, one of the options is to update firmware.  When you do, it will prompt you for the repository, which is when you will insert the SUU DVD.

It will update ALL system firmware - BIOS, ESM, backplane, PERC, NIC, and DRAC.

That's right, but in my case then the DVD-drive refused to open (this happens 'only' when SBUU is running) so then I forced it with a paper clip and inserted the SUU disk. It then complained that there was no repository on it. Which is not true.
Brrrr.

Now I have booted from Windows setup, maybe I can run the SUU disk from there.

I use IMGBurn havent checked fort the iso yet.

Yes the Repository was huge, but I couldnt burn it because I had no DL disks in the house and I live in a somewhat isolated village. So I decided to create my own repository. That one was 900 mb so no problem. When Windows setup is finished I hope I can run it.

Ah .... ok :)

Windows setup has finished without complaining. I ran the disk with 'my' repository on it. I do not understand yet completely however. It reportedly only has updates for the firmware for the SAS and the Nics, but when I click 'upgrade' only the NIC's are upgraded. Nothing about the DRAC, the PERC or the BIOS. Maybe in the link you provided. I'll try it.

This install is a new install only for testing purposes and to have a machine to update the firmware. When this is done I'll run windows setup again and now for the migration of my SBS 2003.

Can I ask one final question before I close this thread (tell me if I am crossing a line). I have found a BIOS update which is supposed to run under WOW64. There are a lot of theoretical articles on the net on WOW64, but I still do not know how to use it. Can I just run the bios.exe from my W 2011 64 desktop?

Forget it, I have done it that way and the bios update has succeeded.

And now the USB noot option is back.

Sorry ... it was still pretty early for me when you posted :)

As you found out, it can simply be run in Windows.  WOW64 is simply a 64-bit OS's ability to run 32-bit packages.  Dell's packages are 32-bit, so as long as WOW is enabled (can be disabled in 2008+ and is disabled by default in 'core' installations I believe), it can be run.

Glad you got it ...

Sorry ... it was still pretty early for me when you posted :)

I realised that, no problem there.

Meanwhile the server seems to behave. I have setupt a RAID now and booting from whatever medium seems possible now. I only do not use the SBUU disk anymore and have found out that in BIOS the boot priority can only be set by the minus sign, the plus sign doesnt react (and it doesnt appear to be a keyboard problem. So it looks I can continue now with setting up W2011. There will be problems there of course, but I'll open e new thread for that, many thanks so far. This was not a problem to be solved by a silver bullet, but by mukltiple worthwhile tiups from someone in the know, thanks again.