The IPC documents start, logically enough, in pretty much the same way as a business or home user would start off computing—with selecting, installing and configuring an hardware and operating system platform.

If we were to choose a motto or catchphrase to attempt to capture the essence of this section, it would be "any building is only as robust as its foundation".

Further chapters will cover:

1. Hardware
• Processor
• Motherboard and case
• RAM
• Hard disk drives (HDD)
  
• Optical (CD & DVD) drives
• USB Memory keys and other flash memory
  
• Floppy disk drives (FDD)
• Power supply
• Miscellaneous - leads, connectors, etc.
2. Operating Systems
• Microsoft Windows XP
• XP Home
• XP Professional
• Ubuntu Linux