So you have downloaded SharePoint 2010 RTM (final release) and are ready to install. If you have not yet done any preparatory actions, check out 5 Tips on Effectively Planning for SharePoint 2010 Migration and if you need or want more detail, check out What NOT to Migrate into SharePoint 2010 and In Place Upgrade to SharePoint 2010 – The Vertict? It’s better, but is it good enough? (you will see a lot of articles in this arena coming out these days).
On the CodeProject site you find a step-by-step guide leading you through the server setup: http://www.codeproject.com/KB/sharepoint/InstallSharePoint2010_asp.aspx
Note: We run SharePoint on Virtual Machines. One very big advantage is that before the migration we just create a snapshot of the VM so in case something goes wrong, we can go back to the state of the server before the migration. This is a much better situation than having to deal with software half way installed.
