💻 Willis Box — ready for tomorrow

They do the install. This is your prep list.

0 of 7 · your progress saves automatically
Two machines going with you:
⭐ HP ENVY 17 · i7 · 16 GB — the Willis boxHP ENVY x360 15 · i5 · 8 GB — spare

The install team has the Linux USB sticks and will do the install. Your only job is handing them a machine that's ready. This is that list.

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🔑 STEP 0 · DO THIS BEFORE YOU LEAVE
Copy 3 files to the external drive
These three exist in exactly one place on Earth — your working laptop. They are deliberately NOT in the GitHub backup (that's correct, they're secrets). If that laptop dies, they're gone and every saved password becomes permanently unreadable.

On your MAIN laptop, plug in the external drive, then:

  1. Open File Explorer, paste this into the address bar and hit Enter:
    C:\Users\Votaw Family\.openclaw
  2. Copy these three onto the external drive:
    • lockbox.key ← the critical one (66 bytes)
    • openclaw.json ← all your settings
    • gmail\client_secret.json ← Gmail access
  3. Make a folder on the drive called willis-keys and put them in it
Also put lockbox.key somewhere that isn't a drive. Open it in Notepad, copy the text, paste it into your password manager as a note. Drives fail and get lost — two different kinds of place beats two copies in one kind.
⚠️ Don't label the drive folder "passwords" or leave it in a laptop bag. That one file is the key to everything in your lockbox. Treat it like a spare house key — you want it to exist, somewhere only you would look.

Note: .openclaw starts with a dot, so it's hidden. Pasting the path is the reliable way in — don't hunt for it.

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STEP 1 · ✅ SETTLED
Ownership — cleared

Christa 8/17: "old work computers that no longer function in that space at all — I own them personally." No employer claim, nothing to ask permission for. Wipe away.

The wipe itself handles the old borrower files. A full-disk Ubuntu install overwrites the partition table and writes a fresh filesystem — the RE_HOGAN / US BANK CIP / HOI files stop being recoverable by any normal means. That IS the secure disposal.

One loose end that has nothing to do with tomorrow: you said you already saved everything off. If any of those borrower files landed on a personal USB stick or your home drive, that copy outlives the wipe. Worth a look sometime this week — not tonight, and not a blocker.

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STEP 2 · the one that stalls installs
Get the BitLocker recovery key

Your screen said "Your PC is monitored and protected" with BitLocker in the sidebar — so the drive is probably encrypted. That's the #1 thing that stops an install cold.

Easiest fix — just turn it off, on each laptop:

  • Search BitLocker → Manage BitLocker
  • Click Turn off BitLocker
  • Let it finish decrypting (can take a while — start it tonight)
Or grab the key instead: go to account.microsoft.com/devices/recoverykey on your phone, screenshot it, and bring it. Either works — off is simpler.
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STEP 3
Check for a BIOS password

Shut down fully, power on, tap Esc repeatedly. If it asks for a BIOS/administrator password — that's a blocker, and only you can clear it. Find it tonight.

If the blue Startup Menu just appears with no password, you're fine. Press Esc again to exit.

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STEP 4
Pack the chargers

Both laptops and both power adapters. An install on battery can brick a machine halfway through — most techs won't start without power.

Label them with tape: "17 = WILLIS" and "15 = spare". Two identical silver HPs get mixed up fast.
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STEP 5 · tell the installer
Three requests to make out loud

Say these when you hand the machines over:

  • "Erase the whole disk" — no dual boot, no keeping Windows
  • "Enable auto-login" — it runs unattended; it can't sit at a login screen after a power blip
  • "Install OpenSSH server" — this is the one that lets me set it up remotely instead of you typing commands
That third one saves you an hour. If they ask why: it's so it can be administered headless.

Write down the username and password they set. There's no reset.

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STEP 6
Bring it home → tell me

Plug it in, connect Wi-Fi, message me. I'll handle:

  • Stopping it sleeping when the lid closes (the whole point)
  • Remote access so I can work on it without you
  • Installing Willis and moving everything over
Then: lid closed, plugged in, in a corner. Willis stops dying when you unplug your main laptop.
Stuck on any step? Send me a photo of the screen.