1. Yes.

2. Up to you. That falls under the category of hardware boxing and is fine, but obviously won't work if you only have one machine

You have lots of catching up to do:

Guides

Software tools forum

Forum search facility

Better, but off-site search facility

Wiki

Video - how to set up your first group

Please be sure to make full use of the above links before you post any questions. Everything people need to know to get themselves up and running is already here.

Feel free to post specific questions if you find yourself stuck though.