Couple improvements to the install-stormux script. make sure hostname doesn't contain spaces. Try to make sure current information for mirrors even if current iso is a bit out of date.

x86_64/airootfs/usr/local/bin/install-stormux

@@ -933,12 +933,55 @@ get_bios_install_disk() {
 # System information gathering
 #
 
+is_valid_hostname() {
+    local candidate="$1"
+    local label
+    local -a labels
+
+    if [[ -z "$candidate" ]] || [[ ${#candidate} -gt 253 ]]; then
+        return 1
+    fi
+
+    if [[ "$candidate" == .* ]] || [[ "$candidate" == *. ]] || [[ "$candidate" == *..* ]]; then
+        return 1
+    fi
+
+    if [[ "$candidate" == *[!A-Za-z0-9.-]* ]]; then
+        return 1
+    fi
+
+    IFS=. read -r -a labels <<< "$candidate"
+    for label in "${labels[@]}"; do
+        if [[ -z "$label" ]] || [[ ${#label} -gt 63 ]]; then
+            return 1
+        fi
+
+        if [[ ! "$label" =~ ^[A-Za-z0-9]([A-Za-z0-9-]*[A-Za-z0-9])?$ ]]; then
+            return 1
+        fi
+    done
+
+    return 0
+}
+
 gather_system_info() {
     log_info "=== System Configuration ==="
 
     # Hostname
-    echo "Enter hostname for the new system:"
+    echo "Hostnames may contain letters, numbers, and hyphens, with optional dots between name parts."
-    read -r hostname
+    echo "They cannot contain spaces or underscores, and each part must start and end with a letter or number."
+    echo "Examples: stormux, stormux-laptop, stormux-desktop"
+    while true; do
+        echo "Enter hostname for the new system:"
+        read -r hostname
+
+        if is_valid_hostname "$hostname"; then
+            break
+        fi
+
+        echo "ERROR: Invalid hostname."
+        echo "Use letters, numbers, and hyphens only; do not use spaces. Example: stormux-laptop"
+    done
     log_info "Hostname set to: $hostname"
 
     # Root password
@@ -1173,6 +1216,40 @@ gather_system_info() {
 # Base system installation
 #
 
+refresh_package_sources() {
+    local mirrorlist="/etc/pacman.d/mirrorlist"
+    local mirrorlistBackup="${mirrorlist}.stormux-backup"
+    local targetSyncDir="$mountPoint/var/lib/pacman/sync"
+
+    log_info "Refreshing package mirrors and databases"
+
+    if command -v reflector >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+        log_info "Selecting recently synced fast Arch mirrors"
+        cp -a "$mirrorlist" "$mirrorlistBackup"
+
+        if reflector --protocol https --latest 20 --sort rate --number 10 --save "$mirrorlist"; then
+            log_info "Mirrorlist refreshed"
+        else
+            log_warning "Mirror refresh failed; keeping the existing mirrorlist"
+            cp -a "$mirrorlistBackup" "$mirrorlist"
+        fi
+    else
+        log_warning "reflector is not installed; using the existing mirrorlist"
+    fi
+
+    log_info "Forcing package database refresh"
+    if ! pacman -Syy --noconfirm; then
+        log_error "Package database refresh failed"
+        return 1
+    fi
+
+    log_info "Clearing target package sync cache for pacstrap"
+    mkdir -p "$targetSyncDir"
+    rm -f "$targetSyncDir"/*.db "$targetSyncDir"/*.db.sig "$targetSyncDir"/*.files "$targetSyncDir"/*.files.sig
+
+    return 0
+}
+
 install_base_system() {
     log_info "=== Installing Base System ==="
 
@@ -1278,6 +1355,11 @@ install_base_system() {
     log_info "Installing packages: ${allPackages[*]}"
     log_info "Installing packages (this may take several minutes)"
 
+    if ! refresh_package_sources; then
+        log_error "Could not refresh package sources"
+        return 1
+    fi
+
     # Run pacstrap
     if ! pacstrap "$mountPoint" "${allPackages[@]}"; then
         log_error "pacstrap failed"