diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index d4ed1bf..d3f17d8 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -4,3 +4,4 @@ PrawnOS-Alpha-c201-libre-2GB*
 PrawnOS-*-Alpha-c201-libre-2GB*
 tmp.*
 PrawnOS-Alpha-c201-libre-2GB-git*.img
+PrawnOS-initramfs.cpio.gz
diff --git a/makefile b/makefile
index f06d00b..8d246f8 100644
--- a/makefile
+++ b/makefile
@@ -70,6 +70,10 @@ clean_all:
 kernel:
 	scripts/buildKernel.sh $(KVER)
 
+.PHONY: initramfs
+initramfs:
+	scripts/buildInitramFs.sh
+
 #makes the base filesystem image, no kernel only if the base image isnt present
 .PHONY: filesystem
 filesystem:
@@ -88,8 +92,9 @@ injected_image: #makes a copy of the base image with a new injected kernel
 .PHONY: image
 image:
 	make clean_img
-	make kernel
 	make filesystem
+	make initramfs
+	make kernel
 #Make a new copy of the filesystem image
 	cp $(BASE) $(OUTNAME)
 	make kernel_inject
diff --git a/resources/BuildResources/config b/resources/BuildResources/config
index f24cc3f..223c4a9 100644
--- a/resources/BuildResources/config
+++ b/resources/BuildResources/config
@@ -151,13 +151,16 @@ CONFIG_NET_NS=y
 # CONFIG_SYSFS_DEPRECATED is not set
 CONFIG_RELAY=y
 CONFIG_BLK_DEV_INITRD=y
-CONFIG_INITRAMFS_SOURCE=""
+CONFIG_INITRAMFS_SOURCE="PrawnOS-initramfs.cpio.gz"
+CONFIG_INITRAMFS_ROOT_UID=0
+CONFIG_INITRAMFS_ROOT_GID=0
 CONFIG_RD_GZIP=y
 # CONFIG_RD_BZIP2 is not set
 # CONFIG_RD_LZMA is not set
 CONFIG_RD_XZ=y
 # CONFIG_RD_LZO is not set
 # CONFIG_RD_LZ4 is not set
+CONFIG_INITRAMFS_COMPRESSION=".gz"
 # CONFIG_CC_OPTIMIZE_FOR_PERFORMANCE is not set
 CONFIG_CC_OPTIMIZE_FOR_SIZE=y
 CONFIG_SYSCTL=y
diff --git a/resources/BuildResources/initramfs-init b/resources/BuildResources/initramfs-init
index 3576425..0317b4e 100644
--- a/resources/BuildResources/initramfs-init
+++ b/resources/BuildResources/initramfs-init
@@ -1,6 +1,8 @@
 #!/bin/busybox sh
 
 
+echo In PrawnOS Init
+
 cmdline() {
     local value
     value=" $(cat /proc/cmdline) "
@@ -21,7 +23,6 @@ rootpartuuid() {
 mount -n -t proc     proc      /proc
 mount -n -t sysfs    sysfs     /sys
 mount -n -t devtmpfs devtmpfs  /dev
-mount -n -t tmpfs    tmpfs     /run
 
 # get the root device, so we can find the boot partiton
 UNPARSED=$(cmdline root)
@@ -35,6 +36,8 @@ ROOT_DEV="${BLKID%1:*}"
 
 echo ${ROOT_DEV}
 
+#uncomment for debugging
+# exec setsid /bin/sh -c 'exec /bin/sh </dev/tty1 >/dev/tty1 2>&1'
 
 # we use this to change what cmdline options get passed into
 # the next boot stage, aka to enable root encryption
@@ -46,6 +49,9 @@ mount ${ROOT_DEV}3 /newroot
 
 umount /sys
 umount /proc
+umount /dev
+
+# exec setsid /bin/sh -c 'exec /bin/sh </dev/tty1 >/dev/tty1 2>&1'
 
 #swith to the new rootfs
-exec swith_root /newroot "/sbin/init" ${CMDLINE}
\ No newline at end of file
+exec switch_root /newroot /sbin/init ${CMDLINE}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/resources/BuildResources/kernel.its b/resources/BuildResources/kernel.its
index 549ef9c..ac2967f 100644
--- a/resources/BuildResources/kernel.its
+++ b/resources/BuildResources/kernel.its
@@ -27,12 +27,24 @@
 				algo = "sha1";
 			};
 		};
+		ramdisk@1{
+			description = "initrd.img";
+			data = /incbin/("PrawnOS-initramfs.cpio.gz");
+			type = "ramdisk";
+			arch = "arm";
+			os = "linux";
+			compression = "none";
+			hash@1{
+				algo = "sha1";
+			};
+		};
 	};
 	configurations {
 		default = "conf";
 		conf{
 			kernel = "kernel";
 			fdt = "fdt";
+			ramdisk = "ramdisk@1";
 		};
 	};
 };
diff --git a/scripts/buildFilesystem.sh b/scripts/buildFilesystem.sh
index 8e5aa55..0cb4996 100755
--- a/scripts/buildFilesystem.sh
+++ b/scripts/buildFilesystem.sh
@@ -163,17 +163,32 @@ chroot $outmnt locale-gen
 
 #Install the base packages
 chroot $outmnt apt update
-chroot $outmnt apt install -y initscripts udev kmod net-tools inetutils-ping traceroute iproute2 isc-dhcp-client wpasupplicant iw alsa-utils cgpt vim-tiny less psmisc netcat-openbsd ca-certificates bzip2 xz-utils ifupdown nano apt-utils git kpartx gdisk parted rsync busybox-static
+chroot $outmnt apt install -y initscripts udev kmod net-tools inetutils-ping traceroute iproute2 isc-dhcp-client wpasupplicant iw alsa-utils cgpt vim-tiny less psmisc netcat-openbsd ca-certificates bzip2 xz-utils ifupdown nano apt-utils git kpartx gdisk parted rsync busybox-static cryptsetup
 
 #make the initramfs image that gets copied to partiton 2
+#this is not yet fully funtional, needs the kernel parts which are
+#added in "injectKernelIntoFS.sh"
+
 #make a skeleton filesystem
-initramfs_src=$outmnt/usr/src/initramfs
-mkdir -p $initramfs_src/
-mkdir ${initramfs_src}/{bin,dev,etc,newroot,proc,sys,sbin,run,lib}
+initramfs_src=$outmnt/InstallResources/initramfs_src
+mkdir -p $initramfs_src
+mkdir $initramfs_src/bin
+mkdir $initramfs_src/dev
+mkdir $initramfs_src/etc
+mkdir $initramfs_src/newroot
+mkdir $initramfs_src/proc
+mkdir $initramfs_src/sys
+mkdir $initramfs_src/sbin
+mkdir $initramfs_src/run
+mkdir $initramfs_src/lib
 mkdir $initramfs_src/lib/arm-linux-gnueabihf
-#install the few tools we need
+
+#install the few tools we need, and the supporting libs
 cp $outmnt/bin/busybox $outmnt/sbin/cryptsetup $initramfs_src/bin/
-cp ${outmnt}/lib/arm-linux-gnueabihf/{libblkid.so.1,libc.so.6,libuuid.so.1} ${initramfs_src}/lib/arm-linux-gnueabihf/
+cp $outmnt/lib/arm-linux-gnueabihf/libblkid.so.1 $initramfs_src/lib/arm-linux-gnueabihf/
+cp $outmnt/lib/arm-linux-gnueabihf/libuuid.so.1 $initramfs_src/lib/arm-linux-gnueabihf/
+cp $outmnt/lib/arm-linux-gnueabihf/libc.so.6 $initramfs_src/lib/arm-linux-gnueabihf/
+
 cp $outmnt/lib/ld-linux-armhf.so.3 $initramfs_src/lib/
 cp $outmnt/sbin/blkid $initramfs_src/bin/
 
@@ -182,7 +197,6 @@ cp $build_resources/initramfs-init $initramfs_src/init
 chmod +x $initramfs_src/init
 
 #compress and install
-#TODO, make this correct
 find $initramfs_src -print0 | cpio --null --create --verbose --format=newc | gzip --best > $outmnt/boot/PrawnOS-initramfs.cpio.gz 
 
 
diff --git a/scripts/buildInitramFs.sh b/scripts/buildInitramFs.sh
new file mode 100755
index 0000000..5f5efcc
--- /dev/null
+++ b/scripts/buildInitramFs.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,102 @@
+
+#!/bin/sh -xe
+
+#Build initramfs image
+
+
+# This file is part of PrawnOS (http://www.prawnos.com)
+# Copyright (c) 2018 Hal Emmerich <hal@halemmerich.com>
+
+# PrawnOS is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify
+# it under the terms of the GNU General Public License version 2
+# as published by the Free Software Foundation.
+
+# PrawnOS is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
+# but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
+# MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the
+# GNU General Public License for more details.
+
+# You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License
+# along with PrawnOS.  If not, see <https://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
+
+
+outmnt=$(mktemp -d -p `pwd`)
+outdev=/dev/loop7
+KVER=$1
+ROOT_DIR=`pwd`
+build_resources=$ROOT_DIR/resources/BuildResources
+
+if [ ! -f $ROOT_DIR/PrawnOS-*-c201-libre-2GB.img-BASE ]
+then
+    echo "No base filesystem, run 'make filesystem' first"
+    exit 1
+fi
+
+#A hacky way to ensure the loops are properly unmounted and the temp files are properly deleted.
+#Without this, a reboot is sometimes required to properly clean the loop devices and ensure a clean build 
+cleanup() {
+    set +e
+
+    umount -l $outmnt > /dev/null 2>&1
+    rmdir $outmnt > /dev/null 2>&1
+    losetup -d $outdev > /dev/null 2>&1
+
+    set +e
+
+    umount -l $outmnt > /dev/null 2>&1
+    rmdir $outmnt > /dev/null 2>&1
+    losetup -d $outdev > /dev/null 2>&1
+}
+
+trap cleanup INT TERM EXIT
+
+losetup -P $outdev $ROOT_DIR/PrawnOS-*-c201-libre-2GB.img-BASE
+#mount the root filesystem
+mount -o noatime ${outdev}p3 $outmnt
+#mount the initramfs partition 
+mount -o noatime ${outdev}p2 $outmnt/boot
+
+#make a skeleton filesystem
+initramfs_src=$outmnt/InstallResources/initramfs_src
+rm -rf $initramfs_src*
+mkdir -p $initramfs_src
+mkdir $initramfs_src/bin
+mkdir $initramfs_src/dev
+mkdir $initramfs_src/etc
+mkdir $initramfs_src/newroot
+mkdir $initramfs_src/proc
+mkdir $initramfs_src/sys
+mkdir $initramfs_src/sbin
+mkdir $initramfs_src/run
+mkdir $initramfs_src/lib
+mkdir $initramfs_src/lib/arm-linux-gnueabihf
+
+#install the few tools we need, and the supporting libs
+cp $outmnt/bin/busybox $outmnt/sbin/cryptsetup $initramfs_src/bin/
+cp $outmnt/lib/arm-linux-gnueabihf/libblkid.so.1 $initramfs_src/lib/arm-linux-gnueabihf/
+cp $outmnt/lib/arm-linux-gnueabihf/libuuid.so.1 $initramfs_src/lib/arm-linux-gnueabihf/
+cp $outmnt/lib/arm-linux-gnueabihf/libc.so.6 $initramfs_src/lib/arm-linux-gnueabihf/
+
+cp $outmnt/lib/ld-linux-armhf.so.3 $initramfs_src/lib/
+cp $outmnt/sbin/blkid $initramfs_src/bin/
+
+#add the init script
+cp $build_resources/initramfs-init $initramfs_src/init
+chmod +x $initramfs_src/init
+
+#compress and install
+rm -rf $outmnt/boot/PrawnOS-initramfs.cpio.gz
+cd $initramfs_src
+ln -s busybox bin/cat
+ln -s busybox bin/mount
+ln -s busybox bin/sh
+ln -s busybox bin/switch_root
+ln -s busybox bin/umount
+find . -print0 | cpio --null --create --verbose --format=newc | gzip --best > $outmnt/boot/PrawnOS-initramfs.cpio.gz 
+
+cd $ROOT_DIR
+
+[ ! -d build ] && mkdir build
+cd build
+# store for kernel building
+cp $outmnt/boot/PrawnOS-initramfs.cpio.gz .
diff --git a/scripts/buildKernel.sh b/scripts/buildKernel.sh
index 1da323c..93f6259 100755
--- a/scripts/buildKernel.sh
+++ b/scripts/buildKernel.sh
@@ -29,6 +29,12 @@ ROOT_DIR=`pwd`
 RESOURCES=$ROOT_DIR/resources/BuildResources
 [ ! -d build ] && mkdir build
 cd build
+if [ ! -f PrawnOS-initramfs.cpio.gz ]
+then
+    echo "No initramfs image, run 'make initramfs' first"
+    cd $ROOT_DIR
+    exit 1
+fi
 # build AR9271 firmware
 [ ! -d open-ath9k-htc-firmware ] && git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/qca/open-ath9k-htc-firmware.git
 cd open-ath9k-htc-firmware
@@ -51,6 +57,8 @@ make mrproper
 [ "$TEST_PATCHES" = true ] && for i in $RESOURCES/patches-untested/kernel/*.patch; do patch -p1 < $i; done
 [ "$TEST_PATCHES" = true ] && for i in $RESOURCES/patches-untested/DTS/*.patch; do patch -p1 < $i; done
 
+#copy in the initramfs and kernel config
+cp $ROOT_DIR/build/PrawnOS-initramfs.cpio.gz .
 cp $RESOURCES/config .config
 make -j `grep ^processor /proc/cpuinfo  | wc -l`  CROSS_COMPILE=arm-none-eabi- ARCH=arm zImage modules dtbs
 [ ! -h kernel.its ] && ln -s $RESOURCES/kernel.its .
diff --git a/scripts/injectKernelIntoFS.sh b/scripts/injectKernelIntoFS.sh
index 3198c47..158b2bd 100755
--- a/scripts/injectKernelIntoFS.sh
+++ b/scripts/injectKernelIntoFS.sh
@@ -53,16 +53,27 @@ trap cleanup INT TERM EXIT
 #Mount the build filesystem image
 
 losetup -P $outdev $2
-mount -o noatime ${outdev}p2 $outmnt
+#mount the root filesystem
+mount -o noatime ${outdev}p3 $outmnt
+#mount the initramfs partition 
+# mount -o noatime ${outdev}p2 $outmnt/boot
 
 # put the kernel in the kernel partition, modules in /lib/modules and AR9271
 # firmware in /lib/firmware
 dd if=$build_resources/blank_kernel of=${outdev}p1 conv=notrunc
 dd if=build/linux-$KVER/vmlinux.kpart of=${outdev}p1 conv=notrunc
 make -C build/linux-$KVER ARCH=arm INSTALL_MOD_PATH=$outmnt modules_install
-#Dont put ath firmware in filesystem, it is now built into the kernel image
-# install -D -m 644 build/open-ath9k-htc-firmware/target_firmware/htc_9271.fw $outmnt/lib/firmware/ath9k_htc/htc_9271-1.4.0.fw
-# install -D -m 644 build/open-ath9k-htc-firmware/target_firmware/htc_7010.fw $outmnt/lib/firmware/ath9k_htc/htc_7010-1.4.0.fw
+
+# put the required kernel items into the initramfs aka the device tree and the kernel image
+# TODO: the in-place kernel upgrade script must be changed to copy in new versions of these files
+# cp build/linux-$KVER/arch/arm/boot/dts/rk3288-veyron-speedy.dtb $outmnt/boot/rk3288-veyron-speedy.dtb
+# cp build/linux-$KVER/vmlinux.kpart $outmnt/boot
+
+#TODO: do we actually need the kernel in /boot?? I think not. lets test and find out
+
+# the initramfs is build into the kernel image
+
+# the ath9k firmware is built into the kernel image, so nothing else must be done
 
 umount -l $outmnt > /dev/null 2>&1
 rmdir $outmnt > /dev/null 2>&1