diff --git a/archlabs-installer b/archlabs-installer
index c4166db..d620977 100755
--- a/archlabs-installer
+++ b/archlabs-installer
@@ -1365,6 +1365,7 @@ select_root()
 		if (( BTRFS == 2 )); then
 			btrfs_subvols "$ROOT" || return 1
 		fi
+		BTRFS=0
 		return 0
 	fi
 	# should never reach here unless an error occurred
@@ -1432,24 +1433,25 @@ select_extra()
 		done <<< "$PARTS"
 	fi
 
-	while (( PART_COUNT )); do
-		part=''
-		dlg part menu 'Mount Extra' "$_expart" 'done' 'finish mounting step' $PARTS || break
-		if [[ $part == 'done' ]]; then
-			break
-		elif select_filesystem "$part" && select_mountpoint && part_mount "$part" "$EXMNT" $BTRFS; then
-			if (( BTRFS == 2 )); then
-				btrfs_subvols "$part" "$EXMNT" || return 1
-			fi
-			EXMNTS+="$part: $EXMNT "
-			[[ $EXMNT == '/usr' && $HOOKS != *usr* ]] && HOOKS+=" usr"
-		else
-			return 1
-		fi
-	done
-
 	if (( PART_COUNT == 0 )); then
 		msg "Mount Extra" "\nMounting Finished\n\nNo more partitions to mount, returning to main menu.\n" 2
+	else
+		while (( PART_COUNT )); do
+			part=''
+			dlg part menu 'Mount Extra' "$_expart" 'done' 'finish mounting step' $PARTS || break
+			if [[ $part == 'done' ]]; then
+				break
+			elif select_filesystem "$part" && select_mountpoint && part_mount "$part" "$EXMNT" $BTRFS; then
+				if (( BTRFS == 2 )); then
+					btrfs_subvols "$part" "$EXMNT" || return 1
+				fi
+				EXMNTS+="$part: $EXMNT "
+				[[ $EXMNT == '/usr' && $HOOKS != *usr* ]] && HOOKS+=" usr"
+				BTRFS=0
+			else
+				return 1
+			fi
+		done
 	fi
 	return 0
 }
@@ -2383,16 +2385,16 @@ prerun_systemd-boot()
 btrfs_name()
 {
 	local txt="$1"
-	local default="$2"
+	local def="$2"
 	local match="$3"
 
 	SUBVOL=''
 	until [[ $SUBVOL ]]; do
-		dlg SUBVOL input "Btrfs Subvolume Name" "$txt" "$default" || return 1
+		dlg SUBVOL input "Subvolume Name" "$txt" "$def" || return 1
 		if [[ -z $SUBVOL ]]; then
 			return 1
 		elif [[ $SUBVOL =~ \ |\' || $match == *"$SUBVOL"* || $SUBVOL == "$MVOL" ]]; then
-			msg "Btrfs Subvolume Name Error" "$_btrfserrname"
+			msg "Subvolume Name Error" "$_btrfserrname"
 			SUBVOL=''
 		fi
 	done
@@ -2403,29 +2405,18 @@ btrfs_subvols()
 {
 	local part="$1"
 	local mntp="$2"
-	local list=""
-	local opts=''
-	local n=1
+	local list='' opts='' s="${mntp//\//_}" n=1
 	local txt="\nEnter a name for the initial subvolume.\n\nOnce mounted other subvolumes created for"
 
-	MVOL=""
-	btrfs_name "$txt ${mntp:-/} will branch from it." "root" || return 1
+	btrfs_name "$txt $MNT${mntp} will branch from it." "subvol${s:-_root}" || return 1
 	MVOL="$SUBVOL"
 
-	if [[ $mntp ]]; then
-		mkdir -p "${MNT}$mntpt" || return 1
-		cd "$MNT${mntp}" 2> "$ERR"
-		errshow 0 "cd $MNT${mntp}" || return 1
-	else
-		BTRFS_MNT="rootflags=subvol=$MVOL"
-	fi
+	mkdir -p "$MNT${mntp}" || return 1
+	[[ -z $mntp ]] && BTRFS_MNT="rootflags=subvol=$MVOL"
 
 	# create the main subvolume
-	btrfs subvolume create "$MVOL" > /dev/null 2> "$ERR"
-	errshow 0 "btrfs subvolume create $MVOL" || return 1
-
-	cd 2> "$ERR"
-	errshow 0 "cd" || return 1
+	btrfs subvolume create "$MNT${mntp}/$MVOL" > /dev/null 2> "$ERR"
+	errshow 0 "btrfs subvolume create $MNT${mntp}/$MVOL" || return 1
 	umount "$part" 2> "$ERR"
 	errshow 0 "umount $part" || return 1
 
@@ -2435,36 +2426,23 @@ btrfs_subvols()
 		opts="subvol=${MVOL}"
 	fi
 
-	if [[ $mntp ]]; then
-		mount -o $opts "$part" "$MNT${mntp}" 2> "$ERR" || mount -o $opts "$part" "$MNT${mntp}" 2> "$ERR"
-		errshow 0 "mount -o $opts $part $MNT${mntp}" || return 1
-		grep -q "$MNT${mntp}" /proc/mounts || { msg "Mount Failed" "\nUnable to mount $part at $MNT${mntp}\n" 2; return 1; }
-		msg "Mount Complete" "\nSubvolume $MVOL mounted at $MNT${mntp}\n" 1
-	else
-		mount -o $opts "$part" "$MNT" 2> "$ERR" || mount -o $opts "$part" "$MNT" 2> "$ERR"
-		errshow 0 "mount -o $opts $part $MNT" || return 1
-		grep -q "$MNT" /proc/mounts || { msg "Mount Failed" "\nUnable to mount $part at $MNT\n" 2; return 1; }
-		msg "Mount Complete" "\nSubvolume $MVOL mounted at $MNT\n" 1
-	fi
-
-	cd "$MNT${mntp}" 2> "$ERR"
-	errshow 0 "cd $MNT${mntp}" || return 1
+	mount -o $opts "$part" "$MNT${mntp}" 2> "$ERR"
+	errshow 0 "mount -o $opts $part $MNT${mntp}" || return 1
+	grep -q "$MNT${mntp}" /proc/mounts || { msg "Mount Failed" "\nUnable to mount $part at $MNT${mntp}\n" 2; return 1; }
+	msg "Mount Complete" "\nSubvolume $MVOL mounted at $MNT${mntp}\n" 1
 
 	# create the subvolume(s)
-	SUBVOL=''
 	until [[ $SUBVOL == '*' ]]; do
 		local txt="\nEnter a name for subvolume $n within '$MVOL' subvolume."
 		txt+="\n\nThis process will be repeated until an asterisk (*) is entered as the subvolume name."
-		btrfs_name "$txt\n\nCreated subvolumes: ${list:-none}\n" "subvol$n" "$list" || return 1
-		btrfs subvolume create $SUBVOL > /dev/null 2> "$ERR"
-		errshow 0 "btrfs subvolume create $SUBVOL" || return 1
+		btrfs_name "$txt\n\nCreated subvolumes: ${list:-none}\n" "subvol_$n" "$list" || return 1
+		btrfs subvolume create "$MNT${mntp}/$MVOL/$SUBVOL" > /dev/null 2> "$ERR"
+		errshow 0 "btrfs subvolume create $MNT${mntp}/$MVOL/$SUBVOL" || return 1
 		(( n++ ))
 		list+="$SUBVOL "
 	done
 
-	msg "Btrfs Setup Complete" "\nBtrfs subvolumes:\n\n$(ls)"
-	cd 2> "$ERR"
-	errshow 0 "cd" || return 1
+	msg "Btrfs Setup Complete" "\nBtrfs subvolumes:\n\n$(ls -R "$MNT${mntp}/$MVOL")"
 }
 
 ###############################################################################
@@ -2835,8 +2813,9 @@ ofn()
 
 die()
 {
-	# cleanup and exit the installer cleanly with exit code $1
-	local e="${1:-$?}" # when e is 127 unmount /run/archiso/bootmnt and reboot
+	# exit cleanly with exit code $1 or the last command's exit code
+	# when $1 == 127 we unmount and reboot
+	local e="${1:-$?}"
 
 	trap - INT
 	tput cnorm
@@ -2967,12 +2946,14 @@ live()
 usage()
 {
 	cat <<- EOF
-	usage: $1 [-hdn] [-rb DEVICE] [-l SESSION]
+	usage: $1 [-hDn] [-r ROOT] [-b BOOT] [-l SESSION] [-d DISTRO] [-m MOUNTPOINT]
 
 	options:
 		-h		print this message and exit
 		-l		install and setup a live session
-		-d		enable xtrace and log output to $DBG
+		-D		enable xtrace and log output to $DBG
+		-m		set the mountpoint used for the new installation
+		-d		set the distribution name for the installed system
 		-n		no partitioning, mounting, or formatting (self mount)
 		-r		root partition to use for install, required when using -n
 		-b		boot partition to use for install, required on UEFI systems when using -n
@@ -2993,24 +2974,6 @@ usage()
 		plasma   - A kde software project currently comprising a full desktop environment
 		xfce4    - A lightweight and modular desktop environment based on gtk+2/3
 
-	distro name:
-
-		set the DIST environment variable before launching the installer eg.
-
-			DIST='MyDistro' $1
-
-	root/boot partition:
-
-		set the ROOT and/or BOOT environment variables before launching the installer eg.
-
-			ROOT='/dev/sda2' BOOT='/dev/sda1' $1
-
-	editor used:
-
-		set the EDITOR environment variable before launching the installer eg.
-
-			EDITOR='nano' $1
-
 	EOF
 	exit 0
 }
@@ -3052,7 +3015,7 @@ errmsg()
 	local err=""
 
 	err="$(sed 's/[^[:print:]]//g; s/\[[0-9\;:]*\?m//g; s/==> //g; s/] ERROR:/]\nERROR:/g' "$ERR")"
-	[[ -z $err ]] && err="no error message was found"
+	[[ -z $err ]] && err="no error message was output"
 	printf "%s" "$err"
 }
 
@@ -3127,7 +3090,7 @@ prechecks()
 {
 	local i=1
 
-	if (( $1 >= 0 )) && ! grep -qw "$MNT" /proc/mounts; then
+	if (( $1 >= 0 )) && ! grep -q " $MNT " /proc/mounts; then
 		msg "Not Mounted" "\nPartition(s) must be mounted first.\n" 2
 		SEL=4 i=0
 	elif [[ $1 -ge 1 && -z $BOOTLDR ]]; then
@@ -3137,7 +3100,7 @@ prechecks()
 		msg "No User" "\nA user must be created first.\n" 2
 		SEL=6 i=0
 	elif [[ $1 -ge 3 && -z $CONFIG_DONE ]]; then
-		msg "Not Configured" "\nSystem configuration must be done first.\n" 2
+		msg "No Config" "\nSystem configuration must be done first.\n" 2
 		SEL=7 i=0
 	fi
 	(( i )) # return code
@@ -3147,7 +3110,7 @@ umount_dir()
 {
 	mount | grep -q 'swap' && swapoff -a
 	for dir; do
-		if [[ -d $dir ]] && mount | grep -q "on $dir "; then
+		if [[ -d $dir ]] && grep -q " $dir " /proc/mounts; then
 			if ! umount "$dir" 2> /dev/null; then
 				sleep 0.5
 				umount -f "$dir" 2> /dev/null || umount -l "$dir"
@@ -3235,10 +3198,10 @@ system_identify()
 	modprobe -q efivarfs > /dev/null 2>&1
 
 	if [[ -d /sys/firmware/efi/efivars ]]; then
-		export SYS="UEFI"
+		SYS="UEFI"
 		grep -q /sys/firmware/efi/efivars /proc/mounts || mount -t efivarfs efivarfs /sys/firmware/efi/efivars
 	else
-		export SYS="BIOS"
+		SYS="BIOS"
 	fi
 }
 
@@ -3265,45 +3228,23 @@ trap 'printf "\n^C\n" && die 1' INT
 
 while getopts ":htl:Dnr:b:m:d:" OPT; do
 	case "$OPT" in
-		n)
-			NOMOUNT=true
-			;;
-		m)
-			MNT="$OPTARG"
-			;;
-		d)
-			DIST="$OPTARG"
-			;;
-		D)
-			debug
-			;;
-		h)
-			usage "$0"
-			;;
-		t)
-			TEARFREE=true
-			;;
+		D) debug ;;
+		h) usage "$0" ;;
+		n) NOMOUNT=true ;;
+		t) TEARFREE=true ;;
+		m) MNT="$OPTARG" ;;
+		d) DIST="$OPTARG" ;;
 		r)
-			if [[ ! -b $OPTARG ]]; then
-				msg "Invalid Root" "\nThe installer expects a full path to a block device for root.\n\nExiting..\n" 2
-				die 1
-			fi
+			[[ -b $OPTARG ]] || { msg "Invalid Root" "\nThe installer expects a full path to a block device for root.\n\nExiting..\n" 2; die 1; }
 			ROOT="$OPTARG"
 			;;
 		b)
-			if [[ ! -b $OPTARG ]]; then
-				msg "Invalid Boot" "\nThe installer expects a full path to a block device for boot.\n\nExiting..\n" 2
-				die 1
-			fi
+			[[ -b $OPTARG ]] || { msg "Invalid Boot" "\nThe installer expects a full path to a block device for boot.\n\nExiting..\n" 2; die 1; }
 			BOOT="$OPTARG"
 			;;
 		l)
-			if [[ "${!WM_SESSIONS[*]}" =~ $OPTARG ]]; then
-				live "$OPTARG"
-			else
-				echo "error: invalid session for -l, see -h for help"
-				die 1
-			fi
+			[[ "${!WM_SESSIONS[*]}" =~ $OPTARG ]] || { echo "error: invalid session for -l, see -h for help"; die 1; }
+			live "$OPTARG"
 			;;
 		\?)
 			echo "invalid option: $OPTARG"
@@ -3312,6 +3253,7 @@ while getopts ":htl:Dnr:b:m:d:" OPT; do
 	esac
 done
 
+# verify mountpoint and distro name
 if [[ ! -d $MNT ]]; then
 	msg "Invalid Mountpoint" "\nThe installer expects an existing directory for mounting.\n\nExiting..\n" 2
 	die 1
@@ -3323,6 +3265,7 @@ fi
 system_identify
 system_devices
 
+# verify partitions for self mounted installs
 if [[ $NOMOUNT ]]; then
 	if [[ -z $ROOT || ($SYS == 'UEFI' && -z $BOOT) ]]; then
 		msg "Invalid Partitions" "$_errpart" 0
@@ -3334,26 +3277,30 @@ if [[ $NOMOUNT ]]; then
 	fi
 fi
 
-if [[ $TERM == 'linux' && -f /tmp/hassetfont ]]; then
-	FONT="$(< /tmp/hassetfont)"
-	setfont "$FONT"
-else
-	fontsize=16
-	FONT="ter-i${fontsize}n"
-	while [[ $TERM == 'linux' && ! -f /tmp/hassetfont ]]; do
-		dlg fontsize menu "Font Size" "\nSelect a font size from the list below.\n\nDefault: 16" \
-			12 "setfont ter-i12n" 14 "setfont ter-i14n" 16 "setfont ter-i16n" 18 "setfont ter-i18n" \
-			20 "setfont ter-i20n" 22 "setfont ter-i22n" 24 "setfont ter-i24n" 28 "setfont ter-i28n" \
-			32 "setfont ter-i32n" || break
-		FONT="ter-i${fontsize}n"
+# linux console font setup
+if [[ $TERM == 'linux' ]]; then
+	if [[ -f /tmp/font ]]; then
+		FONT="$(< /tmp/font)"
 		setfont "$FONT"
-		yesno "Font Size" "\nKeep the currently set font size?\n" && echo "ter-i${fontsize}n" > /tmp/hassetfont
-	done
+	else
+		fontsize=16
+		while [[ $TERM == 'linux' && ! -f /tmp/font ]]; do
+			dlg fontsize menu "Font Size" "\nSelect a font size from the list below.\n\nDefault: 16" \
+				12 "setfont ter-i12n" 14 "setfont ter-i14n" 16 "setfont ter-i16n" 18 "setfont ter-i18n" \
+				20 "setfont ter-i20n" 22 "setfont ter-i22n" 24 "setfont ter-i24n" 28 "setfont ter-i28n" \
+				32 "setfont ter-i32n" || break
+
+			FONT="ter-i${fontsize}n"
+			setfont "$FONT"
+			yesno "Font Size" "\nKeep the currently set font size?\n" && echo "ter-i${fontsize}n" > /tmp/font
+		done
+	fi
 fi
 
-if [[ ! -f /tmp/welcomed ]]; then
+# welcome once
+if [[ ! -f /tmp/weld ]]; then
 	msg "Welcome to the $DIST Installer" "$_welcome"
-	touch /tmp/welcomed
+	touch /tmp/weld
 fi
 
 if ! select_keymap; then
@@ -3364,8 +3311,9 @@ elif ! net_connect; then
 	die 1
 fi
 
+# check for update once
 if [[ ! -f /tmp/new ]]; then
-	msg "Installer Update" "\nChecking that the installer version is the newest.\n" 0
+	msg "Installer Update" "\nChecking for newer installer versions.\n" 1
 	if curl -fsSL https://bitbucket.org/archlabslinux/installer/raw/master/archlabs-installer -o /tmp/new; then
 		if (( $(vercmp "$(awk -F= '/^VER=/ {print $2}' /tmp/archlabs-installer)" "$VER") > 0 )); then
 			cp /tmp/new /usr/bin/archlabs-installer && exec archlabs-installer "$@"
@@ -3376,6 +3324,7 @@ if [[ ! -f /tmp/new ]]; then
 	fi
 fi
 
+# warn before starting the background process
 if [[ $NOMOUNT ]]; then
 	wrn="\nA background install process will begin early when using -n flag\n\nSome files may be overwritten during the process\n"
 	yesno "Data Warning" "$wrn\nProceed?\n" || die 0