.. _usermanual:
.. role:: raw-html-m2r(raw)
   :format: html

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Getting Started
***********************************

You can follow the :ref:`quickstartguide` to learn how to start collecting data right away. However, we recommend reading the :ref:`hardwareguide` page carefully if you're going to use our hardware, and especially if you're going to :ref:`build it <buildinstructions>`. When something goes wrong, or if your data look suspicious, knowing the basics of how the hardware works makes it easier to troubleshoot. And the more people who have a thorough understanding of the Open Ephys ecosystem, the easier it is to support new users.

We recommend checking out our `course materials on extracellular electrophysiology acquisition <https://open-ephys.github.io/ephys-course/>`_, which goes into the fundamentals of how tiny extracellular voltages are detected, amplified and digitized in these kinds of digital multichannel acquisition systems.

Different Acquisition Board generations function differently. The :doc:`/User-Manual/Generations-differences` section points out the different hardware, drivers, gateware, software compatibility and functionality aspects that vary. Being aware of the differences will help you navigate these docs.

.. toctree::
    :hidden:
    :maxdepth: 1
    :titlesonly:

    Quickstart-guide
    Hardware-requirements
    Driver-installation
    Acquisition-software
    Generations-differences
    Gateware-Update