Here is a quick checklist of the installation tips in this chapter:
Verify that the system and all components are on the Hardware Compatibility List.
Do a clean install, if possible.
Verify that CPU speed, RAM, and storage meet minimum recommended requirements.
Get current on all firmware, BIOS, and drivers.
Use NTFS to format all server partitions.
Mount disks in all removable media.
Perform a bare installation first, then install additional services later.
Use hardware RAID for best performance and fault tolerance.
Use FDISK to delete all partitions on dynamic disks when doing a clean install. This converts them to basic disks.
On multiboot machines, install each Windows product into its own partition.
Purchase Windows Server 2003 and XP using Volume Purchase Agreements to avoid per-instance activation.
For IA64 systems, ensure that you create the correct GPT partitions in the correct order.
Remove all unnecessary peripherals if you have Setup problems.
Improve performance by putting the paging file or files on a separate drive. Leave a small paging file on the boot drive for a stack heap dump (minidump).
Get disk utilities that are certified to work with NTFS 5.1 and Windows Server 2003/XP.