diff --git a/archlabs-installer b/archlabs-installer
index f2c2043..472f1bd 100755
--- a/archlabs-installer
+++ b/archlabs-installer
@@ -120,16 +120,16 @@ export DIALOGOPTS="--cr-wrap"
 
 # giant ugly variable container :P {
 
-# RAM in the system in MB
+# system RAM in MB
 SYS_MEM="$(awk '/MemTotal/ {print int($2 / 1024) "M"}' /proc/meminfo)"
 
 # locales from /etc/locale.gen
 LOCALES="$(awk '/\.UTF-8/ {gsub(/# .*|#/, ""); if ($1) {print $1 " - "}}' /etc/locale.gen)"
 
-# linux console keyboard mappings
+# console keyboard mappings
 CMAPS="$(find /usr/share/kbd/keymaps -name '*.map.gz' | awk '{gsub(/\.map\.gz|.*\//, ""); print $1 " - "}' | sort)"
 
-# terminal size definitions
+# terminal size
 [[ $LINES ]] || LINES=$(tput lines)
 [[ $COLUMNS ]] || COLUMNS=$(tput cols)
 SHL=$((LINES - 20))
@@ -137,7 +137,7 @@ SHL=$((LINES - 20))
 # associative arrays
 # {
 
-# commands used to install each bootloader (most get modified during runtime) {
+# commands used to install each bootloader, however most get modified during runtime {
 declare -A BCMDS=(
 [refind-efi]='refind-install'                    # minor modification
 [grub]='grub-install --recheck --force'          # heavily modified
@@ -146,7 +146,7 @@ declare -A BCMDS=(
 [systemd-boot]='bootctl --path=/boot install'    # not modified
 ) # }
 
-# executable name for each wm/de {
+# executable name for each wm/de used in ~/.xinitrc {
 declare -A WM_SESSIONS=(
 [dwm]='dwm'
 [i3-gaps]='i3'
@@ -173,7 +173,7 @@ declare -A WM_EXT=(
 [xfce4]='archlabs-skel-xfce4 xfce4-goodies' # see deps of archlabs-skel-xfce4
 ) # }
 
-# files that can be edited after install is complete {
+# files offered for editing after install is complete {
 declare -A EDIT_FILES=(
 [login]='' # login is populated once we know the username and shell
 [fstab]='/etc/fstab'
@@ -188,7 +188,7 @@ declare -A EDIT_FILES=(
 [keyboard]='/etc/X11/xorg.conf.d/00-keyboard.conf /etc/default/keyboard'
 ) # }
 
-# mkfs command for filesystem formatting {
+# mkfs command and flags for filesystem formatting {
 declare -A FS_CMDS=(
 [f2fs]='mkfs.f2fs'
 [jfs]='mkfs.jfs -q'
@@ -202,7 +202,7 @@ declare -A FS_CMDS=(
 [reiserfs]='mkfs.reiserfs -q'
 ) # }
 
-# mount options for each filesystem (if any) {
+# mount options for each filesystem {
 declare -A FS_OPTS=(
 [vfat]=''  # NA
 [ntfs]=''  # NA
@@ -222,10 +222,9 @@ declare -A LOGIN_PKGS=(
 [lightdm]='lightdm lightdm-gtk-greeter lightdm-gtk-greeter-settings accountsservice'
 ) # }
 
-# PKG_EXT: if you add a package to $PACKAGES in any dialog {
-#          and it uses/requires some additional packages,
-#          you can add them here to keep it simple: [package]="extra"
-#          duplicates are not added
+# extras installed for user selected packages {
+# if a package requires additional packages that aren't already dependencies
+# they can be added here eg. [package]="extra"
 declare -A PKG_EXT=(
 [vlc]='qt4'
 [mpd]='mpc'
@@ -243,7 +242,7 @@ declare -A PKG_EXT=(
 
 # }
 
-# text variables
+# dialog text variables
 # {
 
 # Basics (somewhat in order)
@@ -304,8 +303,11 @@ _lvmerrlvsize="\nInvalid value Entered.\n\nMust be a numeric value with 'M' (meg
 
 ###############################################################################
 # selection menus
+# main is the entry point which calls functions including outside of its block
+# once those functions finished they always are returned here with the
+# exception of install_main(), it exits upon completion
 
-select_main()
+main()
 {
 	(( SEL < 12 )) && (( SEL++ ))
 	tput civis
@@ -330,7 +332,7 @@ select_main()
 		2) part_menu || (( SEL-- )) ;;
 		3) luks_menu || (( SEL-- )) ;;
 		4) lvm_menu || (( SEL-- )) ;;
-		5) select_menu || (( SEL-- )) ;;
+		5) mount_menu || (( SEL-- )) ;;
 		6) prechecks 0 && { select_boot || (( SEL-- )); } ;;
 		7) prechecks 1 && { select_mkuser || (( SEL-- )); } ;;
 		8) prechecks 2 && { select_config || (( SEL-- )); } ;;
@@ -713,7 +715,9 @@ select_packages()
 }
 
 ###############################################################################
-# partition menus
+# partitioning menus
+# non-essential partitioning helpers called by the user when using the optional
+# partition menu and selecting a device to edit
 
 part_menu()
 {
@@ -849,6 +853,74 @@ part_auto()
 	msg "Auto Partition" "\nProcess complete.\n\n$(lsblk -o NAME,MODEL,SIZE,TYPE,FSTYPE "$device")\n"
 }
 
+part_shrink()
+{
+	part=""
+	typeset -i size num
+	local device="$1" fs=""
+
+	part_find "${device##*/}[^ ]" || return 1
+	(( COUNT == 1 )) && part="$(awk '{print $1}' <<< "${PARTS[@]}" )"
+	
+	if (( COUNT == 1 )) || dlg part menu "Resize" "\nWhich partition on $device do you want to resize?" $PARTS; then
+		fs=$(lsblk -lno FSTYPE "$part")
+		case "$fs" in
+			ext*|ntfs)
+				msg "Resize" "\nGathering device size info.\n" 0
+				num="${part: -1}"
+				end=$(parted -s "$device" unit KiB print | awk '/^\s*'"$num"'/ {print $3}')                    # part size in KiB
+				devsize=$(parted -s "$device" unit KiB print | awk '/Disk '"${device//\//\\/}"':/ {print $3}') # whole device size in KiB
+				mount "$part" $MNT >/dev/null 2>&1; sleep 0.5
+				min=$(df --output=used --block-size=MiB "$part" | awk 'NR == 2 {print int($1) + 256}')
+				max=$(df --output=avail --block-size=MiB "$part" | awk 'NR == 2 {print int($1)}')
+				umount_dir $MNT
+				tput cnorm
+				if dialog --backtitle "$DIST Installer - $SYS - v$VER" --title " Resize: $part " --rangebox "$_resize" 17 "$COLUMNS" "$min" "$max" $((max / 2)) 2>$ANS; then
+					size=$(< "$ANS")
+					size=$((size * 1024))
+				else
+					return 1
+				fi
+				clear
+				case "$fs" in
+					ntfs)
+						if ntfsresize -fc "$part"; then
+							ntfsresize -ff --size $(( (size * 1024) / 1000 ))k "$part" 2>$ERR # k=10^3 bytes
+							errshow "ntfsresize -f -s $(( (size * 1024) / 1000 ))k $part" || return 1
+						else
+							msg "Resize" "\nThe ntfs partition $part cannot be resized because it is scheduled for a consistency check.\n\nTo do a consistency check in windows open command prompt as admin and run:\n\n\tchkdsk /f /r /x\n"
+							return 1
+						fi
+						;;
+					*)
+						e2fsck -f "$part"; sleep 0.5
+						resize2fs -f "$part" ${size}K 2>$ERR # K=2^10 bytes
+						errshow "resize2fs -f $part ${size}K" || return 1
+						;;
+				esac
+				sleep 0.5
+				parted "$device" resizepart "$num" ${size}KiB || return 1
+				(( size++ ))
+				sleep 0.5
+				if [[ $devsize == "$end" ]]; then
+					parted -s "$device" mkpart primary ext4 ${size}KiB 100% 2>$ERR
+					errshow "parted -s $device mkpart primary ext4 ${size}KiB 100%" || return 1
+				else
+					parted -s "$device" mkpart primary ext4 ${size}KiB ${end}KiB 2>$ERR
+					errshow "parted -s $device mkpart primary ext4 ${size}KiB ${end}KiB" || return 1
+				fi
+				msg "Resize Complete" "\n$part has been successfully resized to $((size / 1024))M.\n" 1
+				;;
+			"") msg "No Filesystem" "\nFor unformatted partitions, cfdisk can be used in the partition menu.\n" ;;
+			*) msg "Invalid Filesystem: $fs" "\nResizing only supports ext and ntfs.\n" ;;
+		esac
+	fi
+}
+
+###############################################################################
+# partition management functions
+# these are helpers for use by other functions to do essential setup/teardown
+
 part_find()
 {
 	local regexp="$1" err=''
@@ -918,70 +990,6 @@ part_format()
 	sleep "${delay:-0}"
 }
 
-part_shrink()
-{
-	part=""
-	typeset -i size num
-	local device="$1" fs=""
-
-	part_find "${device##*/}[^ ]" || return 1
-	(( COUNT == 1 )) && part="$(awk '{print $1}' <<< "${PARTS[@]}" )"
-	
-	if (( COUNT == 1 )) || dlg part menu "Resize" "\nWhich partition on $device do you want to resize?" $PARTS; then
-		fs=$(lsblk -lno FSTYPE "$part")
-		case "$fs" in
-			ext*|ntfs)
-				msg "Resize" "\nGathering device size info.\n" 0
-				num="${part: -1}"
-				end=$(parted -s "$device" unit KiB print | awk '/^\s*'"$num"'/ {print $3}')                    # part size in KiB
-				devsize=$(parted -s "$device" unit KiB print | awk '/Disk '"${device//\//\\/}"':/ {print $3}') # whole device size in KiB
-				mount "$part" $MNT >/dev/null 2>&1; sleep 0.5
-				min=$(df --output=used --block-size=MiB "$part" | awk 'NR == 2 {print int($1) + 256}')
-				max=$(df --output=avail --block-size=MiB "$part" | awk 'NR == 2 {print int($1)}')
-				umount_dir $MNT
-				tput cnorm
-				if dialog --backtitle "$DIST Installer - $SYS - v$VER" --title " Resize: $part " --rangebox "$_resize" 17 "$COLUMNS" "$min" "$max" $((max / 2)) 2>$ANS; then
-					size=$(< "$ANS")
-					size=$((size * 1024))
-				else
-					return 1
-				fi
-				clear
-				case "$fs" in
-					ntfs)
-						if ntfsresize -fc "$part"; then
-							ntfsresize -ff --size $(( (size * 1024) / 1000 ))k "$part" 2>$ERR # k=10^3 bytes
-							errshow "ntfsresize -f -s $(( (size * 1024) / 1000 ))k $part" || return 1
-						else
-							msg "Resize" "\nThe ntfs partition $part cannot be resized because it is scheduled for a consistency check.\n\nTo do a consistency check in windows open command prompt as admin and run:\n\n\tchkdsk /f /r /x\n"
-							return 1
-						fi
-						;;
-					*)
-						e2fsck -f "$part"; sleep 0.5
-						resize2fs -f "$part" ${size}K 2>$ERR # K=2^10 bytes
-						errshow "resize2fs -f $part ${size}K" || return 1
-						;;
-				esac
-				sleep 0.5
-				parted "$device" resizepart "$num" ${size}KiB || return 1
-				(( size++ ))
-				sleep 0.5
-				if [[ $devsize == "$end" ]]; then
-					parted -s "$device" mkpart primary ext4 ${size}KiB 100% 2>$ERR
-					errshow "parted -s $device mkpart primary ext4 ${size}KiB 100%" || return 1
-				else
-					parted -s "$device" mkpart primary ext4 ${size}KiB ${end}KiB 2>$ERR
-					errshow "parted -s $device mkpart primary ext4 ${size}KiB ${end}KiB" || return 1
-				fi
-				msg "Resize Complete" "\n$part has been successfully resized to $((size / 1024))M.\n" 1
-				;;
-			"") msg "No Filesystem" "\nFor unformatted partitions, cfdisk can be used in the partition menu.\n" ;;
-			*) msg "Invalid Filesystem: $fs" "\nResizing only supports ext and ntfs.\n" ;;
-		esac
-	fi
-}
-
 part_device()
 {
 	if [[ $DEV_COUNT -eq 1 && $SYS_DEVS ]]; then
@@ -1087,8 +1095,10 @@ part_mountconf()
 
 ###############################################################################
 # mounting menus
+# mount_menu is the entry point which calls all other functions
+# once finished it returns to the main menu: main()
 
-select_menu()
+mount_menu()
 {
 	msg "Info" "\nGathering device info.\n" 0
 	is_bg_install || return 0
@@ -1114,7 +1124,7 @@ select_menu()
 
 	select_swap || return 1
 	select_extra_partitions || return 1
-	install_background || return 1
+	install_background
 
 	return 0
 }
@@ -1332,6 +1342,8 @@ select_extra_partitions()
 
 ###############################################################################
 # installation
+# main is the entry point which calls all other install functions, once
+# complete it shows a dialog to edit files on the new system before reboot
 
 install_main()
 {
@@ -1385,28 +1397,24 @@ install_main()
 install_base()
 {
 	if [[ $RSYNC_PID || $MIRROR_PID ]]; then
-		clear
+		local oldmsg="" msg=""
 		printf "\nOne or more background install processes are still running, grabbing their output...\n"
-		sleep 2
 		while kill -0 "$RSYNC_PID" 2>/dev/null || kill -0 "$MIRROR_PID" 2>/dev/null; do
-			tail -n 1 /tmp/bg_out
-			sleep 0.5
+			msg="$(tail -n 1 /tmp/bg_out)"
+			if [[ "$msg" != "$oldmsg" ]]; then
+				printf "\n%s" "$msg"
+				oldmsg="$msg"
+			else
+				printf "."
+			fi
 		done
 		trap - EXIT
 		unset RSYNC_PID MIRROR_PID
-	elif hash rsync >/dev/null 2>&1 && [[ -d /run/archiso/sfs/airootfs/etc/skel ]]; then
+	else
 		rsync -ahv /run/archiso/sfs/airootfs/ $MNT/ 2>$ERR
 		errshow 1 "rsync -ahv /run/archiso/sfs/airootfs/ $MNT/"
 		install_mirrorlist "$MNT/etc/pacman.d/mirrorlist"
 		chrun "pacman -Syyu --noconfirm && pacman -S $BASE_PKGS --needed --noconfirm"
-	else
-		mkdir -p /etc/pacman.d/mirrorlist
-		install_mirrorlist "/etc/pacman.d/mirrorlist"
-		pacstrap "$MNT" base $ISO_BASE 2>$ERR
-		errshow 1 "pacstrap $MNT base $KERNEL $ISO_BASE"
-		mkdir -p "$MNT/etc/pacman.d/mirrorlist"
-		cp -f /etc/pacman.d/mirrorlist "$MNT/etc/pacman.d/mirrorlist"
-		chrun "pacman -Syyu --noconfirm && pacman -S $BASE_PKGS --needed --noconfirm"
 	fi
 
 	rm -rf $MNT/etc/mkinitcpio-archiso.conf
@@ -1417,13 +1425,13 @@ install_base()
 	if [[ $VM ]]; then
 		find $MNT/etc/X11/xorg.conf.d/ -name '*.conf' -delete
 	elif lspci | grep ' VGA ' | grep -q 'Intel'; then
-		cat > $MNT/etc/X11/xorg.conf.d/20-intel.conf << EOF
-Section "Device"
-	Identifier  "Intel Graphics"
-	Driver      "intel"
-	Option      "TearFree" "true"
-EndSection
-EOF
+		cat > $MNT/etc/X11/xorg.conf.d/20-intel.conf <<- EOF
+		Section "Device"
+		    Identifier  "Intel Graphics"
+		    Driver      "intel"
+		    Option      "TearFree" "true"
+		EndSection
+		EOF
 	fi
 
 	[[ -e /run/archiso/sfs/airootfs && $KERNEL == 'linux' ]] && cp -vf $RUN/x86_64/vmlinuz $MNT/boot/vmlinuz-linux
@@ -1442,32 +1450,33 @@ EOF
 		rm -f $MNT/etc/modprobe/
 	fi
 
-	cat > $MNT/etc/X11/xorg.conf.d/00-keyboard.conf << EOF
-# Use localectl(1) to instruct systemd-localed to update it.
-Section "InputClass"
-	Identifier      "system-keyboard"
-	MatchIsKeyboard "on"
-	Option          "XkbLayout" "$KEYMAP"
-EndSection
-EOF
-	cat > $MNT/etc/default/keyboard << EOF
-# KEYBOARD CONFIGURATION FILE
-# Consult the keyboard(5) manual page.
-XKBMODEL=""
-XKBLAYOUT="$KEYMAP"
-XKBVARIANT=""
-XKBOPTIONS=""
-BACKSPACE="guess"
-EOF
+	cat > $MNT/etc/X11/xorg.conf.d/00-keyboard.conf <<- EOF
+	# Use localectl(1) to instruct systemd-localed to update it.
+	Section "InputClass"
+	    Identifier      "system-keyboard"
+	    MatchIsKeyboard "on"
+	    Option          "XkbLayout" "$KEYMAP"
+	EndSection
+	EOF
+
+	cat > $MNT/etc/default/keyboard <<- EOF
+	# KEYBOARD CONFIGURATION FILE
+	# Consult the keyboard(5) manual page.
+	XKBMODEL=""
+	XKBLAYOUT="$KEYMAP"
+	XKBVARIANT=""
+	XKBOPTIONS=""
+	BACKSPACE="guess"
+	EOF
 	printf "KEYMAP=%s\nFONT=%s\n" "$CMAP" "$FONT" > $MNT/etc/vconsole.conf
 	echo "$MYHOST" > $MNT/etc/hostname
-	cat > $MNT/etc/hosts << EOF
-127.0.0.1	localhost
-127.0.1.1	$MYHOST
-::1			localhost ip6-localhost ip6-loopback
-ff02::1		ip6-allnodes
-ff02::2		ip6-allrouters
-EOF
+	cat > $MNT/etc/hosts <<- EOF
+	127.0.0.1	localhost
+	127.0.1.1	$MYHOST
+	::1			localhost ip6-localhost ip6-loopback
+	ff02::1		ip6-allnodes
+	ff02::2		ip6-allrouters
+	EOF
 }
 
 install_boot()
@@ -1516,12 +1525,13 @@ install_boot()
 
 install_user()
 {
+	rm -f $MNT/root/.zshrc  # remove welcome message from root zshrc
 	chrun "chpasswd <<< 'root:$ROOT_PASS'" 2>$ERR
 	errshow 1 "set root password"
-	if [[ $MYSHELL != "/usr/bin/zsh" ]]; then
-		# root uses zsh by default, change it if something else was chosen
+	if [[ $MYSHELL != "/usr/bin/zsh" ]]; then # root uses zsh by default, change it if something else was chosen
 		chrun "usermod -s $MYSHELL root" 2>$ERR
 		errshow 1 "usermod -s $MYSHELL root"
+		# copy the default mkshrc to /root if mksh was picked
 		[[ $MYSHELL == '/usr/bin/mksh' ]] && cp -fv $MNT/etc/skel/.mkshrc $MNT/root/.mkshrc
 	fi
 
@@ -1534,14 +1544,15 @@ install_user()
 	chrun "chpasswd <<< '$NEWUSER:$USER_PASS'" 2>$ERR
 	errshow 1 "set $NEWUSER password"
 
-	if [[ $USER_PKGS == *neovim* && -d $MNT/home/$NEWUSER/.vim ]]; then
+	# if neovim was picked copy vim configs to ~/.config/nvim
+	if [[ $USER_PKGS == *neovim* ]]; then
 		mkdir -p $MNT/home/$NEWUSER/.config/nvim
 		cp -fv $MNT/home/$NEWUSER/.vimrc $MNT/home/$NEWUSER/.config/nvim/init.vim
 		cp -rfv $MNT/home/$NEWUSER/.vim/colors $MNT/home/$NEWUSER/.config/nvim/colors
 	fi
 
-	[[ $INSTALL_WMS == *dwm* ]] && install_suckless
-	[[ $INSTALL_WMS == *awesome* ]] && install_awesome
+	case $INSTALL_WMS in *awesome*) install_awesome ;; *dwm*) install_suckless ;; esac
+
 	[[ $WM_PKGS == *xfce* ]] && echo 'volumeicon &' >> $MNT/home/$NEWUSER/.xprofile
 
 	# remove some commands from ~/.xprofile when using KDE or Gnome as the login session
@@ -1567,15 +1578,13 @@ install_xinit()
 
 	if [[ $AUTOLOGIN ]]; then
 		sed -i "s/root/${NEWUSER}/g" $SERVICE/autologin.conf
-		cat > "$MNT/home/$NEWUSER/$LOGINRC" <<EOF
-# ~/$LOGINRC
-# sourced by ${MYSHELL##*/} when used as a login shell
+		cat > "$MNT/home/$NEWUSER/$LOGINRC" <<- EOF
+		# ~/$LOGINRC
+		# sourced by ${MYSHELL##*/} when used as a login shell
 
-# automatically run startx when logging in on tty1
-if [ -z \$DISPLAY ] && [ \$XDG_VTNR -eq 1 ]; then
-    exec startx
-fi
-EOF
+		# automatically run startx when logging in on tty1
+		[ -z \$DISPLAY ] && [ \$XDG_VTNR -eq 1 ] && exec startx
+		EOF
 	else
 		rm -rf $SERVICE
 	fi
@@ -1584,7 +1593,6 @@ EOF
 install_login()
 {
 	SERVICE="$MNT/etc/systemd/system/getty@tty1.service.d"
-	sed -i '/printf/d' $MNT/root/.zshrc
 	install_${LOGIN_TYPE:-xinit}
 }
 
@@ -1593,28 +1601,27 @@ install_lightdm()
 	rm -rf "$SERVICE" "$MNT/home/$NEWUSER"/.{xinitrc,profile,zprofile,bash_profile}
 	chrun 'systemctl set-default graphical.target && systemctl enable lightdm.service' 2>$ERR
 	errshow 1 "systemctl set-default graphical.target && systemctl enable lightdm.service"
-	cat > $MNT/etc/lightdm/lightdm-gtk-greeter.conf << EOF
-# LightDM GTK+ Configuration
+	cat > $MNT/etc/lightdm/lightdm-gtk-greeter.conf <<- EOF
+	# LightDM GTK+ Configuration
 
-[greeter]
-default-user-image=/usr/share/icons/ArchLabs-Dark/64x64/places/distributor-logo-archlabs.png
-background=/usr/share/backgrounds/archlabs/archlabs.jpg
-theme-name=Adwaita-dark
-icon-theme-name=Adwaita
-font-name=DejaVu Sans Mono 11
-position=30%,end 50%,end
-EOF
+	[greeter]
+	default-user-image=/usr/share/icons/ArchLabs-Dark/64x64/places/distributor-logo-archlabs.png
+	background=/usr/share/backgrounds/archlabs/archlabs.jpg
+	theme-name=Adwaita-dark
+	icon-theme-name=Adwaita
+	font-name=DejaVu Sans Mono 11
+	position=30%,end 50%,end
+	EOF
 }
 
 install_awesome()
 {
 	# downloads and sets up @elenapan's awesome WM config hosted on github
-
 	if chrun "git clone https://github.com/elenapan/archlabs-awesome /home/$NEWUSER/archlabs-awesome"; then
 		cp -rT "/mnt/home/$NEWUSER/archlabs-awesome" "/mnt/home/$NEWUSER"
 		cp -rT "/mnt/home/$NEWUSER/archlabs-awesome" /mnt/etc/skel
 		rm -rf "/home/$NEWUSER/"{.git,archlabs-awesome,screenshots}
-		printf "You will need to instal pamac seperately if needed using: 'baph -i pamac-aur'\n"
+		printf "You will need to install pamac separately using: 'baph -i pamac-aur'\n"
 		sleep 3
 	else
 		printf "failed to clone awesome config repo\n"
@@ -1726,22 +1733,22 @@ install_mirrorlist()
 	if hash reflector >/dev/null 2>&1; then
 		reflector --score 80 -l 40 -f 5 --sort rate --save "$mfile"
 	elif hash rankmirrors >/dev/null 2>&1; then
-		ip_add="$(curl -fsSL "http://api.ipstack.com/check&?access_key=5f29642060ab983b31fdf4c2935d8c56&fields=ip" |
-			python -c "import sys, json; print(json.load(sys.stdin)['ip'])")"
-		country="$(curl -fsSL "http://api.ipstack.com/${ip_add}?access_key=5f29642060ab983b31fdf4c2935d8c56&fields=country_code" |
-			python -c "import sys, json; print(json.load(sys.stdin)['country_code'])")"
+		local key="access_key=5f29642060ab983b31fdf4c2935d8c56"
+		ip_add="$(curl -fsSL "http://api.ipstack.com/check&?$key&fields=ip" | python -c "import sys, json; print(json.load(sys.stdin)['ip'])")"
+		country="$(curl -fsSL "http://api.ipstack.com/$ip_add?$key&fields=country_code" | python -c "import sys, json; print(json.load(sys.stdin)['country_code'])")"
 		if [[ "$country" ]]; then
 			if [[ $country =~ (CA|US) ]]; then
+				# use both CA and US mirrors for CA or US countries
 				mirror="https://www.archlinux.org/mirrorlist/?country=US&country=CA&use_mirror_status=on"
 			elif [[ $country =~ (AU|NZ) ]]; then
+				# use both AU and NZ mirrors for AU or NZ countries
 				mirror="https://www.archlinux.org/mirrorlist/?country=AU&country=NZ&use_mirror_status=on"
 			else
 				mirror="https://www.archlinux.org/mirrorlist/?country=${country}&use_mirror_status=on"
 			fi
-		else
+		else # no country code so just grab all mirrors, will be a very slow sort but we don't have other options
 			mirror="https://www.archlinux.org/mirrorlist/?country=all&use_mirror_status=on"
 		fi
-
 		curl -fsSL "$mirror" | sed -e 's/^#Server/Server/' -e '/^#/d' | rankmirrors -n 6 - >"$mfile"
 	fi
 
@@ -1750,20 +1757,24 @@ install_mirrorlist()
 
 install_background()
 {
-	if [[ -d /run/archiso/sfs/airootfs/etc/skel ]] && grep -qw "$MNT" /proc/mounts && (grep -qw "$MNT/$BOOTDIR" /proc/mounts || [[ $SYS == 'BIOS' && -z $LUKS ]]); then
-		yesno "Background Install" "\nBegin install in the background?\n" || return 0
-		rsync -a /run/archiso/sfs/airootfs/ $MNT/ &
-		RSYNC_PID=$!
-		( install_mirrorlist "$MNT/etc/pacman.d/mirrorlist" && sleep 1 && mkdir -p $MNT/var/lib/pacman && chrun "pacman -Syyu $BASE_PKGS --needed --noconfirm" >> /tmp/bg_out 2>&1 ) &
-		MIRROR_PID=$!
-		# end the background processes before exiting
-		trap "kill $RSYNC_PID $MIRROR_PID 2>/dev/null" EXIT
-	fi
-	return 0
+	yesno "Background Install" "\nBegin install in the background?\n" || return 0
+
+	rsync -a /run/archiso/sfs/airootfs/ $MNT/ &
+	RSYNC_PID=$!
+
+	mkdir -p $MNT/var/lib/pacman # can help with pacman errors
+	( install_mirrorlist "$MNT/etc/pacman.d/mirrorlist" && sleep 1 && chrun "pacman -Syyu $BASE_PKGS --needed --noconfirm" >> /tmp/bg_out 2>&1 ) &
+	MIRROR_PID=$!
+
+	# end the background processes before exiting
+	trap "kill $RSYNC_PID $MIRROR_PID 2>/dev/null" EXIT
 }
 
 ###############################################################################
 # bootloader setup
+# prerun_* set up the configs needed before actually running the commands
+# setup_* are run after selecting a bootloader and build the command used later
+# they can also be used for further user input as these run before control is taken away
 
 setup_grub()
 {
@@ -1846,56 +1857,45 @@ prerun_syslinux()
 	[[ $SYS == 'UEFI' ]] && { c="$MNT/boot/EFI/syslinux"; s="/usr/lib/syslinux/efi64/"; d=''; }
 
 	mkdir -pv "$c" && cp -rfv $s/* "$c/" && cp -f "$RUN/syslinux/splash.png" "$c/"
-	cat > "$c/syslinux.cfg" << EOF
-UI vesamenu.c32
-MENU TITLE $DIST Boot Menu
-MENU BACKGROUND splash.png
-TIMEOUT 50
-DEFAULT $DIST
+	cat > "$c/syslinux.cfg" <<- EOF
+	UI vesamenu.c32
+	MENU TITLE $DIST Boot Menu
+	MENU BACKGROUND splash.png
+	TIMEOUT 50
+	DEFAULT $DIST
 
-# see: https://www.syslinux.org/wiki/index.php/Comboot/menu.c32
-MENU WIDTH 78
-MENU MARGIN 4
-MENU ROWS 4
-MENU VSHIFT 10
-MENU TIMEOUTROW 13
-MENU TABMSGROW 14
-MENU CMDLINEROW 14
-MENU HELPMSGROW 16
-MENU HELPMSGENDROW 29
-MENU COLOR border       30;44   #40ffffff #a0000000 std
-MENU COLOR title        1;36;44 #9033ccff #a0000000 std
-MENU COLOR sel          7;37;40 #e0ffffff #20ffffff all
-MENU COLOR unsel        37;44   #50ffffff #a0000000 std
-MENU COLOR help         37;40   #c0ffffff #a0000000 std
-MENU COLOR timeout_msg  37;40   #80ffffff #00000000 std
-MENU COLOR timeout      1;37;40 #c0ffffff #00000000 std
-MENU COLOR msg07        37;40   #90ffffff #a0000000 std
-MENU COLOR tabmsg       31;40   #30ffffff #00000000 std
+	# see: https://www.syslinux.org/wiki/index.php/Comboot/menu.c32
+	MENU WIDTH 78
+	MENU MARGIN 4
+	MENU ROWS 4
+	MENU VSHIFT 10
+	MENU TIMEOUTROW 13
+	MENU TABMSGROW 14
+	MENU CMDLINEROW 14
+	MENU HELPMSGROW 16
+	MENU HELPMSGENDROW 29
+	MENU COLOR border       30;44   #40ffffff #a0000000 std
+	MENU COLOR title        1;36;44 #9033ccff #a0000000 std
+	MENU COLOR sel          7;37;40 #e0ffffff #20ffffff all
+	MENU COLOR unsel        37;44   #50ffffff #a0000000 std
+	MENU COLOR help         37;40   #c0ffffff #a0000000 std
+	MENU COLOR timeout_msg  37;40   #80ffffff #00000000 std
+	MENU COLOR timeout      1;37;40 #c0ffffff #00000000 std
+	MENU COLOR msg07        37;40   #90ffffff #a0000000 std
+	MENU COLOR tabmsg       31;40   #30ffffff #00000000 std
 
-LABEL $DIST
-MENU LABEL $DIST Linux
-LINUX $d/vmlinuz-$KERNEL
-APPEND root=$ROOT_PART_ID $([[ $LUKS_DEV ]] && printf "%s " "$LUKS_DEV")rw
-INITRD $([[ $UCODE ]] && printf "%s" "$d/$UCODE.img,")$d/initramfs-$KERNEL.img
+	LABEL $DIST
+	MENU LABEL $DIST Linux
+	LINUX $d/vmlinuz-$KERNEL
+	APPEND root=$ROOT_PART_ID $([[ $LUKS_DEV ]] && printf "%s " "$LUKS_DEV")rw
+	INITRD $([[ $UCODE ]] && printf "%s" "$d/$UCODE.img,")$d/initramfs-$KERNEL.img
 
-LABEL ${DIST}fallback
-MENU LABEL $DIST Linux Fallback
-LINUX $d/vmlinuz-$KERNEL
-APPEND root=$ROOT_PART_ID $([[ $LUKS_DEV ]] && printf "%s " "$LUKS_DEV")rw
-INITRD $([[ $UCODE ]] && printf "%s" "$d/$UCODE.img,")$d/initramfs-$KERNEL-fallback.img
-$([[ $SYS == 'BIOS' ]] && printf "\n%s" "# examples of chainloading other bootloaders
-
-#LABEL grub2
-#MENU LABEL Grub2
-#COM32 chain.c32
-#APPEND file=$d/grub/boot.img
-
-#LABEL windows
-#MENU LABEL Windows
-#COM32 chain.c32
-#APPEND hd0 3")
-EOF
+	LABEL ${DIST}fallback
+	MENU LABEL $DIST Linux Fallback
+	LINUX $d/vmlinuz-$KERNEL
+	APPEND root=$ROOT_PART_ID $([[ $LUKS_DEV ]] && printf "%s " "$LUKS_DEV")rw
+	INITRD $([[ $UCODE ]] && printf "%s" "$d/$UCODE.img,")$d/initramfs-$KERNEL-fallback.img
+	EOF
 	return 0
 }
 
@@ -1908,26 +1908,26 @@ setup_refind-efi()
 
 prerun_refind-efi()
 {
-	cat > $MNT/boot/refind_linux.conf << EOF
-"$DIST Linux"          "root=$ROOT_PART_ID $([[ $LUKS_DEV ]] &&
-                        printf "%s " "$LUKS_DEV")rw add_efi_memmap $([[ $UCODE ]] &&
-                        printf "initrd=%s " "/$UCODE.img")initrd=/initramfs-$KERNEL.img"
-"$DIST Linux Fallback" "root=$ROOT_PART_ID $([[ $LUKS_DEV ]] &&
-                        printf "%s " "$LUKS_DEV")rw add_efi_memmap $([[ $UCODE ]] &&
-                        printf "initrd=%s " "/$UCODE.img")initrd=/initramfs-$KERNEL-fallback.img"
-EOF
+	cat > $MNT/boot/refind_linux.conf <<- EOF
+	"$DIST Linux"          "root=$ROOT_PART_ID $([[ $LUKS_DEV ]] &&
+						printf "%s " "$LUKS_DEV")rw add_efi_memmap $([[ $UCODE ]] &&
+						printf "initrd=%s " "/$UCODE.img")initrd=/initramfs-$KERNEL.img"
+	"$DIST Linux Fallback" "root=$ROOT_PART_ID $([[ $LUKS_DEV ]] &&
+						printf "%s " "$LUKS_DEV")rw add_efi_memmap $([[ $UCODE ]] &&
+						printf "initrd=%s " "/$UCODE.img")initrd=/initramfs-$KERNEL-fallback.img"
+	EOF
 	mkdir -p $MNT/etc/pacman.d/hooks
-	cat > $MNT/etc/pacman.d/hooks/refind.hook << EOF
-[Trigger]
-Operation = Upgrade
-Type = Package
-Target = refind-efi
+	cat > $MNT/etc/pacman.d/hooks/refind.hook <<- EOF
+	[Trigger]
+	Operation = Upgrade
+	Type = Package
+	Target = refind-efi
 
-[Action]
-Description = Updating rEFInd on ESP
-When = PostTransaction
-Exec = /usr/bin/refind-install
-EOF
+	[Action]
+	Description = Updating rEFInd on ESP
+	When = PostTransaction
+	Exec = /usr/bin/refind-install
+	EOF
 }
 
 setup_systemd-boot()
@@ -1940,35 +1940,40 @@ setup_systemd-boot()
 prerun_systemd-boot()
 {
 	mkdir -p $MNT/boot/loader/entries
-	cat > $MNT/boot/loader/loader.conf << EOF
-default  $DIST
-timeout  5
-editor   no
-EOF
-	cat > $MNT/boot/loader/entries/$DIST.conf << EOF
-title   $DIST Linux
-linux   /vmlinuz-${KERNEL}$([[ $UCODE ]] && printf "\ninitrd  %s" "/$UCODE.img")
-initrd  /initramfs-$KERNEL.img
-options root=$ROOT_PART_ID $([[ $LUKS_DEV ]] && printf "%s " "$LUKS_DEV")rw
-EOF
-	cat > $MNT/boot/loader/entries/$DIST-fallback.conf << EOF
-title   $DIST Linux Fallback
-linux   /vmlinuz-${KERNEL}$([[ $UCODE ]] && printf "\ninitrd  %s" "/$UCODE.img")
-initrd  /initramfs-$KERNEL-fallback.img
-options root=$ROOT_PART_ID $([[ $LUKS_DEV ]] && printf "%s " "$LUKS_DEV")rw
-EOF
-	mkdir -p $MNT/etc/pacman.d/hooks
-	cat > $MNT/etc/pacman.d/hooks/systemd-boot.hook << EOF
-[Trigger]
-Type = Package
-Operation = Upgrade
-Target = systemd
 
-[Action]
-Description = Updating systemd-boot
-When = PostTransaction
-Exec = /usr/bin/bootctl update
-EOF
+	cat > $MNT/boot/loader/loader.conf <<- EOF
+	default  $DIST
+	timeout  5
+	editor   no
+	EOF
+
+	cat > $MNT/boot/loader/entries/$DIST.conf <<- EOF
+	title   $DIST Linux
+	linux   /vmlinuz-${KERNEL}$([[ $UCODE ]] && printf "\ninitrd  %s" "/$UCODE.img")
+	initrd  /initramfs-$KERNEL.img
+	options root=$ROOT_PART_ID $([[ $LUKS_DEV ]] && printf "%s " "$LUKS_DEV")rw
+	EOF
+
+	cat > $MNT/boot/loader/entries/$DIST-fallback.conf <<- EOF
+	title   $DIST Linux Fallback
+	linux   /vmlinuz-${KERNEL}$([[ $UCODE ]] && printf "\ninitrd  %s" "/$UCODE.img")
+	initrd  /initramfs-$KERNEL-fallback.img
+	options root=$ROOT_PART_ID $([[ $LUKS_DEV ]] && printf "%s " "$LUKS_DEV")rw
+	EOF
+
+	mkdir -p $MNT/etc/pacman.d/hooks
+	cat > $MNT/etc/pacman.d/hooks/systemd-boot.hook <<- EOF
+	[Trigger]
+	Type = Package
+	Operation = Upgrade
+	Target = systemd
+
+	[Action]
+	Description = Updating systemd-boot
+	When = PostTransaction
+	Exec = /usr/bin/bootctl update
+	EOF
+
 	systemd-machine-id-setup --root="$MNT"
 	return 0
 }
@@ -2349,7 +2354,9 @@ luks_advanced()
 }
 
 ###############################################################################
-# helper functions
+# simple functions
+# some help avoid repetition and improve usability of some commands
+# others are initial setup functions used before reaching the main loop
 
 ofn()
 {
@@ -2646,7 +2653,7 @@ lspci -vnn -d 14e4: | grep -q 'BCM4352' && load_bcm
 net_connect || { msg "Not Connected" "\nThis installer requires an active internet connection.\n\nExiting..\n" 2; die 1; }
 
 while :; do
-	select_main
+	main
 done
 
 # vim:fdm=marker:fmr={,}