The manual left unopened may be answering questions nobody has learned to ask yet.

Instructions get written by people who know the whole shape of a thing, for readers who do not yet know which parts they will need. Most of a manual therefore describes situations you have not met, which is exactly why it looks unnecessary. It turns useful later, at the point where you finally have the question it was answering all along. Documentation is out of order with experience rather than out of use.

Rather than reading the whole thing, skim the headings once so you know what is in there. Then the answer stays findable at the moment the question finally arrives.