Recording: Setting up Ableton Live for Recording

I wrote this beginners guide last year on the DV247 music forum, but for some reason never thought to re-post it on here. I think it's a useful guide to getting more from Live once you've got the default install up and running. Re-reading it has reminded me about a few features that I rarely use, so it could be worth a read for anyone using Live out there. Any edits on the original have been made in the classic square brackets.