diff --git a/plugins/hotplug.c b/plugins/hotplug.c
index 333a0346..b6d0aedb 100644
--- a/plugins/hotplug.c
+++ b/plugins/hotplug.c
@@ -43,17 +43,17 @@ static void setup(void *arg)
 		path = which("/lib/systemd/systemd-udevd");
 	if (path) {
 		/* Register udevd as a monitored service */
-		snprintf(cmd, sizeof(cmd), "[S12345789] pid:udevd name:udevd %s "
+		snprintf(cmd, sizeof(cmd), "[S12345789] pid:udevd name:udevd log %s "
 			 "-- Device event managing daemon", path);
 		if (service_register(SVC_TYPE_SERVICE, cmd, global_rlimit, NULL)) {
 			_pe("Failed registering %s", path);
 		} else {
-			snprintf(cmd, sizeof(cmd), ":1 [S] log <pid/udevd> "
+			snprintf(cmd, sizeof(cmd), ":1 [S] <pid/udevd> log "
 				 "udevadm trigger -c add -t devices "
 				 "-- Requesting device events");
 			service_register(SVC_TYPE_RUN, cmd, global_rlimit, NULL);
 
-			snprintf(cmd, sizeof(cmd), ":2 [S] log <pid/udevd> "
+			snprintf(cmd, sizeof(cmd), ":2 [S] <pid/udevd> log "
 				 "udevadm trigger -c add -t subsystems "
 				 "-- Requesting subsystem events");
 			service_register(SVC_TYPE_RUN, cmd, global_rlimit, NULL);
diff --git a/plugins/pidfile.c b/plugins/pidfile.c
index b525952f..4377d736 100644
--- a/plugins/pidfile.c
+++ b/plugins/pidfile.c
@@ -149,36 +149,26 @@ static void pidfile_handle_dir(struct iwatch *iw, char *dir, char *name, int mas
 
 static void pidfile_callback(void *arg, int fd, int events)
 {
+	static char ev_buf[8 *(sizeof(struct inotify_event) + NAME_MAX + 1) + 1];
 	struct inotify_event *ev;
 	ssize_t sz, off;
-	size_t buflen = 8 *(sizeof(struct inotify_event) + NAME_MAX + 1) + 1;
-	char *buf;
 
-        buf= malloc(buflen);
-	if (!buf) {
-		_pe("Failed allocating buffer for inotify events");
-		return;
-	}
-
-	_d("Entering ... reading %zu bytes into ev_buf[]", buflen - 1);
-	sz = read(fd, buf, buflen - 1);
+	sz = read(fd, ev_buf, sizeof(ev_buf) - 1);
 	if (sz <= 0) {
 		_pe("invalid inotify event");
-		goto done;
+		return;
 	}
-	buf[sz] = 0;
-	_d("Read %zd bytes, processing ...", sz);
+	ev_buf[sz] = 0;
 
-	off = 0;
 	for (off = 0; off < sz; off += sizeof(*ev) + ev->len) {
 		struct iwatch_path *iwp;
 
-		ev = (struct inotify_event *)&buf[off];
-
-		_d("path %s, event: 0x%08x", ev->name, ev->mask);
+		ev = (struct inotify_event *)&ev_buf[off];
 		if (!ev->mask)
 			continue;
 
+		_d("name %s, event: 0x%08x", ev->name, ev->mask);
+
 		/* Find base path for this event */
 		iwp = iwatch_find_by_wd(&iw_pidfile, ev->wd);
 		if (!iwp)
@@ -197,8 +187,6 @@ static void pidfile_callback(void *arg, int fd, int events)
 		if (ev->mask & (IN_CREATE | IN_ATTRIB | IN_MODIFY | IN_MOVED_TO))
 			pidfile_update_conds(iwp->path, ev->name, ev->mask);
 	}
-done:
-	free(buf);
 }
 
 /*
diff --git a/src/conf.c b/src/conf.c
index 8cec98d7..e866db7e 100644
--- a/src/conf.c
+++ b/src/conf.c
@@ -34,6 +34,7 @@
 
 #include "finit.h"
 #include "cond.h"
+#include "iwatch.h"
 #include "service.h"
 #include "tty.h"
 #include "helpers.h"
@@ -53,7 +54,9 @@ struct conf_change {
 	char *name;
 };
 
-static uev_t w1, w2, w3, w4;
+static struct iwatch iw_conf;
+static uev_t etcw;
+
 static TAILQ_HEAD(head, conf_change) conf_change_list = TAILQ_HEAD_INITIALIZER(conf_change_list);
 
 static int parse_conf(char *file);
@@ -680,8 +683,9 @@ int conf_reload(void)
 
 	for (i = 0; i < gl.gl_pathc; i++) {
 		char *path = gl.gl_pathv[i];
-		size_t len;
+		char *rp = NULL;
 		struct stat st;
+		size_t len;
 
 		/* Check that it's an actual file ... beyond any symlinks */
 		if (lstat(path, &st)) {
@@ -697,25 +701,22 @@ int conf_reload(void)
 
 		/* Check for dangling symlinks */
 		if (S_ISLNK(st.st_mode)) {
-			char *rp;
-
-			rp = realpath(path, NULL);
+			path = rp = realpath(path, NULL);
 			if (!rp) {
 				logit(LOG_WARNING, "Skipping %s, dangling symlink: %s", path, strerror(errno));
 				continue;
 			}
-
-			free(rp);
 		}
 
 		/* Check that file ends with '.conf' */
 		len = strlen(path);
-		if (len < 6 || strcmp(&path[len - 5], ".conf")) {
+		if (len < 6 || strcmp(&path[len - 5], ".conf"))
 			_d("Skipping %s, not a valid .conf ... ", path);
-			continue;
-		}
+		else
+			parse_conf_dynamic(path);
 
-		parse_conf_dynamic(path);
+		if (rp)
+			free(rp);
 	}
 
 	globfree(&gl);
@@ -742,6 +743,7 @@ static struct conf_change *conf_find(char *file)
 	struct conf_change *node, *tmp;
 
 	TAILQ_FOREACH_SAFE(node, &conf_change_list, link, tmp) {
+		_d("file: %s vs changed file: %s", file, node->name);
 		if (string_compare(node->name, file))
 			return node;
 	}
@@ -768,13 +770,15 @@ static void drop_changes(void)
 		drop_change(node);
 }
 
-static int do_change(char *name, uint32_t mask)
+static int do_change(char *dir, char *name, uint32_t mask)
 {
+	char path[strlen(dir) + strlen(name) + 2];
 	struct conf_change *node;
 
-	_d("Change detected for %s, mask 0x%08x", name, mask);
+	snprintf(path, sizeof(path), "%s%s", dir, name);
+	_d("path: %s", path);
 
-	node = conf_find(name);
+	node = conf_find(path);
 	if (mask & (IN_DELETE | IN_MOVED_FROM)) {
 		drop_change(node);
 		return 0;
@@ -789,14 +793,14 @@ static int do_change(char *name, uint32_t mask)
 	if (!node)
 		return 1;
 
-	node->name = strdup(name);
+	node->name = strdup(path);
 	if (!node->name) {
 		free(node);
 		return 1;
 	}
 
-	_d("Event registered for %s, mask 0x%x", name, mask);
-	TAILQ_INSERT_HEAD(&conf_change_list, node,link);
+	_d("Event registered for %s, mask 0x%x", path, mask);
+	TAILQ_INSERT_HEAD(&conf_change_list, node, link);
 
 	return 0;
 }
@@ -811,14 +815,9 @@ int conf_any_change(void)
 
 int conf_changed(char *file)
 {
-	char *ptr;
-
 	if (!file)
 		return 0;
 
-	if ((ptr = strrchr(file, '/')))
-		file = ++ptr;
-
 	if (conf_find(file))
 		return 1;
 
@@ -829,7 +828,7 @@ static void conf_cb(uev_t *w, void *arg, int events)
 {
 	static char ev_buf[8 *(sizeof(struct inotify_event) + NAME_MAX + 1) + 1];
 	struct inotify_event *ev;
-	ssize_t sz, len;
+	ssize_t sz, off;
 
 	sz = read(w->fd, ev_buf, sizeof(ev_buf) - 1);
 	if (sz <= 0) {
@@ -837,17 +836,23 @@ static void conf_cb(uev_t *w, void *arg, int events)
 		return;
 	}
 	ev_buf[sz] = 0;
-	ev = (struct inotify_event *)ev_buf;
 
-	if (arg) {
-		do_change(arg, ev->mask);
-		return;
-	}
+	for (off = 0; off < sz; off += sizeof(*ev) + ev->len) {
+		struct iwatch_path *iwp;
 
-	for (ev = (void *)ev_buf; sz > (ssize_t)sizeof(*ev);
-	     len = sizeof(*ev) + ev->len, ev = (void *)ev + len, sz -= len) {
-		if (do_change(ev->name, ev->mask)) {
-			_pe("conf_monitor: Out of memory");
+		ev = (struct inotify_event *)&ev_buf[off];
+		if (!ev->mask)
+			continue;
+
+		_d("name %s, event: 0x%08x", ev->name, ev->mask);
+
+		/* Find base path for this event */
+		iwp = iwatch_find_by_wd(&iw_conf, ev->wd);
+		if (!iwp)
+			continue;
+
+		if (do_change(iwp->path, ev->name, ev->mask)) {
+			_pe(" Out of memory");
 			break;
 		}
 	}
@@ -858,82 +863,23 @@ static void conf_cb(uev_t *w, void *arg, int events)
 #endif
 }
 
-static int add_watcher(uev_ctx_t *ctx, uev_t *w, char *path, uint32_t opt)
-{
-	struct stat st;
-	uint32_t mask = IN_CREATE | IN_DELETE | IN_MODIFY | IN_ATTRIB | IN_MOVE;
-	char *arg = NULL;
-	int fd, wd;
-
-	if (!ctx)
-		return 0;
-
-	if (stat(path, &st)) {
-		_d("No such file or directory, skipping %s", path);
-		w->fd = -1;
-		return 0;
-	}
-	if (!S_ISDIR(st.st_mode)) {
-		arg = strrchr(path, '/');
-		if (!arg)
-			arg = path;
-		else
-			arg++;
-	}
-
-	if (w->fd >= 0)
-		close(w->fd);
-
-	fd = inotify_init1(IN_NONBLOCK | IN_CLOEXEC);
-	if (fd < 0) {
-		_pe("Failed creating inotify descriptor");
-		w->fd = -1;
-		return 1;
-	}
-
-	/*
-	 * Only forward error, don't report error,
-	 * user may not have @path and that's OK
-	 */
-	wd = inotify_add_watch(fd, path, mask | opt);
-	if (wd < 0) {
-		w->fd = -1;
-		close(fd);
-		return 1;
-	}
-
-	if (uev_io_init(ctx, w, conf_cb, arg, fd, UEV_READ)) {
-		_pe("Failed setting up I/O callback for %s watcher", path);
-		w->fd = -1;
-		close(fd);
-		return 1;
-	}
-	_d("Set up inotify watcher for %s ...", path);
-
-	return 0;
-}
-
 /*
  * Set up inotify watcher and load all *.conf in /etc/finit.d/
  */
-int conf_monitor(uev_ctx_t *ctx)
+int conf_monitor(void)
 {
 	int rc = 0;
 
-	/* Skip second run, when called from finit.c in rescue mode */
-	if (ctx && rescue)
-		return 0;
-
 	/*
 	 * If only one watcher fails, that's OK.  A user may have only
 	 * one of /etc/finit.conf or /etc/finit.d in use, and may also
 	 * have or not have symlinks in place.  We need to monitor for
 	 * changes to either symlink or target.
 	 */
-	rc += add_watcher(ctx, &w1, FINIT_RCSD, 0);
-	rc += add_watcher(ctx, &w2, FINIT_RCSD "/available/", IN_DONT_FOLLOW);
-	rc += add_watcher(ctx, &w3, FINIT_RCSD "/enabled/", 0);
-	rc += add_watcher(ctx, &w4, FINIT_CONF, 0);
+	rc += iwatch_add(&iw_conf, FINIT_RCSD, IN_ONLYDIR);
+	rc += iwatch_add(&iw_conf, FINIT_RCSD "/available/", IN_ONLYDIR | IN_DONT_FOLLOW);
+	rc += iwatch_add(&iw_conf, FINIT_RCSD "/enabled/",   IN_ONLYDIR | IN_DONT_FOLLOW);
+	rc += iwatch_add(&iw_conf, FINIT_CONF, 0);
 
 	return rc + conf_reload();
 }
@@ -941,12 +887,25 @@ int conf_monitor(uev_ctx_t *ctx)
 /*
  * Prepare .conf parser and load all .conf files
  */
-int conf_init(void)
+int conf_init(uev_ctx_t *ctx)
 {
-	hostname = strdup(DEFHOST);
-	w1.fd = w2.fd = w3.fd = w4.fd = -1;
+	int fd;
 
-	return conf_monitor(NULL);
+	/* default hostname */
+	hostname = strdup(DEFHOST);
+
+	/* prepare /etc watcher */
+	fd = iwatch_init(&iw_conf);
+	if (fd < 0)
+		return 1;
+
+	if (uev_io_init(ctx, &etcw, conf_cb, NULL, fd, UEV_READ)) {
+		_pe("Failed setting up I/O callback for /etc watcher");
+		close(fd);
+		return 1;
+	}
+
+	return 0;
 }
 
 /**
diff --git a/src/conf.h b/src/conf.h
index 122c93e3..40d882d7 100644
--- a/src/conf.h
+++ b/src/conf.h
@@ -34,11 +34,11 @@ extern struct rlimit global_rlimit[];
 int   str2rlim(char *str);
 char *rlim2str(int rlim);
 
-int  conf_init            (void);
+int  conf_init            (uev_ctx_t *ctx);
 void conf_reload          (void);
 int  conf_any_change      (void);
 int  conf_changed         (char *file);
-int  conf_monitor         (uev_ctx_t *ctx);
+int  conf_monitor         (void);
 
 void conf_parse_cmdline   (int argc, char *argv[]);
 int  conf_parse_runlevels (char *runlevels);
diff --git a/src/finit.c b/src/finit.c
index bf4085f6..b4d27a5d 100644
--- a/src/finit.c
+++ b/src/finit.c
@@ -449,7 +449,7 @@ int main(int argc, char *argv[])
 	/*
 	 * Initialize .conf system and load static /etc/finit.conf.
 	 */
-	conf_init();
+	conf_init(&loop);
 
 	/* Base FS up, enable standard SysV init signals */
 	sig_setup(&loop);
@@ -458,10 +458,10 @@ int main(int argc, char *argv[])
 	plugin_run_hooks(HOOK_BASEFS_UP);
 
 	/*
-	 * Set up inotify watcher for /etc/finit.d and read all .conf
-	 * files to figure out how to bootstrap the system.
+	 * Set up inotify watcher for /etc/finit.conf, /etc/finit.d, and
+	 * their deps, to figure out how to bootstrap the system.
 	 */
-	conf_monitor(&loop);
+	conf_monitor();
 
 	_d("Starting initctl API responder ...");
 	api_init(&loop);
diff --git a/src/helpers.c b/src/helpers.c
index 6104cadf..ad1943b9 100644
--- a/src/helpers.c
+++ b/src/helpers.c
@@ -185,9 +185,6 @@ char *strip_line(char *line)
 
 void enable_progress(int onoff)
 {
-	if (debug)
-		return;
-
 	if (onoff)
 		progress_style = progress_onoff;
 	else
diff --git a/src/iwatch.c b/src/iwatch.c
index ee241a66..5d183a8f 100644
--- a/src/iwatch.c
+++ b/src/iwatch.c
@@ -80,6 +80,10 @@ int iwatch_add(struct iwatch *iw, char *file, uint32_t mask)
 	if (!initialized)
 		return -1;
 
+	if (!fexist(file)) {
+		_d("No such file or directory, skipping %s", file);
+		return 0;
+	}
 	_d("Adding new watcher for path %s", file);
 
 	path = strdup(file);
diff --git a/src/log.c b/src/log.c
index ca251c58..dc574c9e 100644
--- a/src/log.c
+++ b/src/log.c
@@ -85,7 +85,6 @@ void log_debug(void)
 		screen_init();
 	}
 	log_open();
-	enable_progress(1);
 
 	logit(LOG_NOTICE, "Debug mode %s", debug ? "enabled" : "disabled");
 }
diff --git a/src/service.c b/src/service.c
index eaa3d551..7ba261e4 100644
--- a/src/service.c
+++ b/src/service.c
@@ -620,6 +620,22 @@ static void service_kill(svc_t *svc)
 		print(2, NULL);
 }
 
+/*
+ * Clean up any lingering state from dead/killed services
+ */
+static void service_cleanup(svc_t *svc)
+{
+	char *fn;
+
+	fn = pid_file(svc);
+	if (remove(fn) && errno != ENOENT)
+		logit(LOG_CRIT, "Failed removing service %s pidfile %s",
+		      basename(svc->cmd), fn);
+
+	/* No longer running, update books. */
+	svc->start_time = svc->pid = 0;
+}
+
 /**
  * service_stop - Stop service
  * @svc: Service to stop
@@ -629,7 +645,7 @@ static void service_kill(svc_t *svc)
  */
 static int service_stop(svc_t *svc)
 {
-	int res = 0;
+	int rc = 0;
 
 	if (!svc)
 		return 1;
@@ -657,25 +673,15 @@ static int service_stop(svc_t *svc)
 		print_desc("Stopping ", svc->desc);
 
 	if (!svc_is_sysv(svc)) {
-		if (svc->pid <= 1)
-			goto cleanup;
+		if (svc->pid > 1) {
+			/* Kill all children in the same proess group, e.g. logit */
+			rc = kill(-svc->pid, svc->sighalt);
 
-		res = kill(-svc->pid, svc->sighalt);
-
-		/* PID lost or forking process never really started */
-		if (res == -1 && ESRCH == errno) {
-			char *fn;
-
-			/* XXX: Same clenup as done by service_monitor(), refactor */
-		cleanup:
-			fn = pid_file(svc);
-			if (remove(fn) && errno != ENOENT)
-				logit(LOG_CRIT, "Failed removing service %s pidfile %s",
-				      basename(svc->cmd), fn);
-
-			/* No longer running, update books. */
-			svc->start_time = svc->pid = 0;
-		}
+			/* PID lost or forking process never really started */
+			if (rc == -1 && ESRCH == errno)
+				service_cleanup(svc);
+		} else
+				service_cleanup(svc);
 	} else {
 		char *args[] = { svc->cmd, "stop", NULL };
 		pid_t pid;
@@ -689,18 +695,18 @@ static int service_stop(svc_t *svc)
 			break;
 		case -1:
 			_pe("Failed fork() to call sysv script '%s stop'", svc->cmd);
-			res = 1;
+			rc = 1;
 			break;
 		default:
-			res = WEXITSTATUS(complete(svc->cmd, pid));
+			rc = WEXITSTATUS(complete(svc->cmd, pid));
 			break;
 		}
 	}
 
 	if (runlevel != 1)
-		print_result(res);
+		print_result(rc);
 
-	return res;
+	return rc;
 }
 
 /**
@@ -716,6 +722,7 @@ static int service_stop(svc_t *svc)
 static int service_restart(svc_t *svc)
 {
 	int do_progress = 1;
+	pid_t lost = 0;
 	int rc;
 
 	/* Ignore if finit is SIGSTOP'ed */
@@ -742,19 +749,26 @@ static int service_restart(svc_t *svc)
 	logit(LOG_CONSOLE | LOG_NOTICE, "Restarting %s[%d], sending SIGHUP ...",
 	      svc_ident(svc, NULL, 0), svc->pid);
 	rc = kill(svc->pid, SIGHUP);
+	if (rc == -1 && errno == ESRCH) {
+		/* nobody home, reset internal state machine */
+		lost = svc->pid;
+	} else {
+		/* Declare we're waiting for svc to re-assert/touch its pidfile */
+		svc_starting(svc);
 
-	/* Declare we're waiting for svc to re-assert/touch its pidfile */
-	svc_starting(svc);
-
-	/* Service does not maintain a PID file on its own */
-	if (svc_has_pidfile(svc)) {
-		sched_yield();
-		touch(pid_file(svc));
+		/* Service does not maintain a PID file on its own */
+		if (svc_has_pidfile(svc)) {
+			sched_yield();
+			touch(pid_file(svc));
+		}
 	}
 
 	if (do_progress)
 		print_result(rc);
 
+	if (lost)
+		service_monitor(lost, 0);
+
 	return rc;
 }
 
@@ -1159,11 +1173,7 @@ void service_monitor(pid_t lost, int status)
 
 	/* Try removing PID file (in case service does not clean up after itself) */
 	if (svc_is_daemon(svc)) {
-		char *fn;
-
-		fn = pid_file(svc);
-		if (remove(fn) && errno != ENOENT)
-			logit(LOG_CRIT, "Failed removing service %s pidfile %s", basename(svc->cmd), fn);
+		service_cleanup(svc);
 	} else if (svc_is_runtask(svc)) {
 		if (WIFEXITED(status) && !WEXITSTATUS(status))
 			svc->started = 1;
@@ -1172,7 +1182,7 @@ void service_monitor(pid_t lost, int status)
 	}
 
 	/* Terminate any children in the same proess group, e.g. logit */
-	kill(-svc->pid, SIGTERM);
+	kill(-svc->pid, SIGKILL);
 
 	/* No longer running, update books. */
 	svc->start_time = svc->pid = 0;