diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index 4f2c6ad9a..cc8e14d1f 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -18,6 +18,14 @@ include $(TOP)/config/CONFIG_BASE
 
 DIRS = src config
 
+#
+# this bootstraps in makeMakefile.pl (and others) so that it can
+# be used to create the first O.xxxx/Makefile
+#
+PERL_BOOTSTRAP_SCRIPTS = $(notdir $(wildcard $(TOP)/src/tools/*.pl))
+PERL_BOOTSTRAP_SCRIPTS_INSTALL = $(PERL_BOOTSTRAP_SCRIPTS:%=$(INSTALL_BIN)/%)
+all host cross inc rebuild uninstall clean depends buildInstall :: $(PERL_BOOTSTRAP_SCRIPTS_INSTALL)
+
 include $(TOP)/config/RULES_TOP
 
 release: 
@@ -28,3 +36,5 @@ built_release:
 	@echo TOP: Creating Fully Built Release...
 	@./MakeRelease -b $(INSTALL_LOCATION)
 
+$(INSTALL_BIN)/%.pl: $(TOP)/src/tools/%.pl
+	$(PERL) $(TOP)/src/tools/installEpics.pl -d -m 555 $< $(INSTALL_BIN)
diff --git a/config/CONFIG.Vx.pc486 b/config/CONFIG.Vx.pc486
index 80db390a2..68b83fa64 100644
--- a/config/CONFIG.Vx.pc486
+++ b/config/CONFIG.Vx.pc486
@@ -6,13 +6,14 @@
 # Unix Compiler and other Utilities
 OLDINSTALL = echo CONFIG.Vx.486 OLDINSTALL
 
-CP   =$(PERL) $(EPICS_BASE)/src/tools/cp.pl
-MV   =$(PERL) $(EPICS_BASE)/src/tools/mv.pl
-RM   =$(PERL) $(EPICS_BASE)/src/tools/rm.pl -f
-MKDIR=$(PERL) $(EPICS_BASE)/src/tools/mkdir.pl
-RMDIR=$(PERL) $(EPICS_BASE)/src/tools/rm.pl -rf
-CHMOD=echo
-WHAT=echo
+CP   =$(PERL) $(EPICS_BASE_HSOT_BIN)/cp.pl
+MV   =$(PERL) $(EPICS_BASE_HOST_BIN)/mv.pl
+RM   =$(PERL) $(EPICS_BASE_HOST_BIN)/rm.pl -f
+MKDIR=$(PERL) $(EPICS_BASE_HOST_BIN)/mkdir.pl
+RMDIR=$(PERL) $(EPICS_BASE_HOST_BIN)/rm.pl -rf
+CHMOD=echo 
+WHAT=echo 
+ECHO=echo
 
 #	overrides defines in CONFIG_SITE that don't fit Tornado
 #
diff --git a/config/CONFIG.WIN32 b/config/CONFIG.WIN32
index 53de70c0a..284b633ea 100644
--- a/config/CONFIG.WIN32
+++ b/config/CONFIG.WIN32
@@ -27,19 +27,23 @@ HOME = $(HOMEDRIVE)$(HOMEPATH)
 BUILD_TYPE=Host
 
 #
-# optimize/debug flags
+# global WIN32 optimize/debug flag
+# (set this to NO in $(HOME)/EPICS_CONFIG if you need to compile 
+# in debug info)
 #
 HOST_OPT = YES 
+
 # 	-Ox  : maximum optimizations
 #	-Wn  ; use this warning level (all warnings at level 4)
-CXX_OPT_FLAGS_YES = -Ox -W1
+CXX_OPT_FLAGS_YES = -Ox -W3
 #	-Zi  : include debugging info in object files
-CXX_OPT_FLAGS_NO = -Zi -W1
+CXX_OPT_FLAGS_NO = -Zi -W3 -D_DEBUG
 CXX_OPT_FLAGS = $(CXX_OPT_FLAGS_$(HOST_OPT))
 LINK_OPT_FLAGS_YES = 
 LINK_OPT_FLAGS_NO = -debug
 LINK_OPT_FLAGS = $(LINK_OPT_FLAGS_$(HOST_OPT))
 
+
 #	to identify the general architecture class:
 #	should be BSD, SYSV, WIN32, ...
 #	is: WIN32, sun4, hpux, linux, ...
@@ -55,13 +59,14 @@ WIN32=1
 YACC  = $(EYACC)
 LEX   = $(ELEX)
 CC    = cl -nologo
-CP    = $(PERL) $(EPICS_BASE)/src/tools/cp.pl
-MV    = $(PERL) $(EPICS_BASE)/src/tools/mv.pl
-RM    = $(PERL) $(EPICS_BASE)/src/tools/rm.pl -f
-MKDIR = $(PERL) $(EPICS_BASE)/src/tools/mkdir.pl
-RMDIR = $(PERL) $(EPICS_BASE)/src/tools/rm.pl -rf
+CP    = $(PERL) $(INSTALL_BIN)/cp.pl
+MV    = $(PERL) $(INSTALL_BIN)/mv.pl
+RM    = $(PERL) $(INSTALL_BIN)/rm.pl -f
+MKDIR = $(PERL) $(INSTALL_BIN)/mkdir.pl
+RMDIR = $(PERL) $(INSTALL_BIN)/rm.pl -rf
 EXE=.exe
 OBJ=.obj
+ECHO = echo
 
 # Include files
 HOST_INCLUDES = -I. -I.. $(USR_INCLUDES) -I$(INSTALL_INCLUDE) \
@@ -77,29 +82,32 @@ HOST_INCLUDES = -I. -I.. $(USR_INCLUDES) -I$(INSTALL_INCLUDE) \
 #	-MDd : use MSVCRTD (run-time as DLL, multi-thread support)
 #	       this also calls for _DLL
 #
-OP_SYS_FLAGS:=-MDd $(CXX_OPT_FLAGS) -VMG -VMV -DWIN32 -D_WIN32 -D_DEBUG -D_WINDOWS \
+#	Unable to use -Za to turn on __STDC__ because there are
+#	non-standard constructs in winnt.h etc
+#
+OP_SYS_FLAGS = -MDd -VMG -VMV -DWIN32 -D_WIN32  -D_WINDOWS \
 	-D_X86_ -D_NTSDK -D_DLL -D__STDC__=0
 
 
-HOST_LDLIBS:=user32.lib kernel32.lib wsock32.lib advapi32.lib winmm.lib
-HOST_LDFLAGS:=-nologo -libpath:$(EPICS_BASE_LIB)
+HOST_LDLIBS = user32.lib kernel32.lib wsock32.lib advapi32.lib winmm.lib
+HOST_LDFLAGS = -nologo -libpath:$(EPICS_BASE_LIB)
 
 #	Files and flags needed to link DLLs (used in RULES.Host)
 #
 #	Strange but seems to work without: WIN32_DLLFLAGS should contain
 #	an entry point:
 #		'-entry:_DllMainCRTStartup$(DLLENTRY)'
-DLLENTRY:=@12
+DLLENTRY = @12
 
 #	yes, for MS it's I386 for 386, 486, Pentium!
 #	don't mix this with VxWorks which has different BSPs for [34]86 !
-WIN32_DLLFLAGS:=$(HOST_LDFLAGS) $(HOST_LDLIBS)\
+WIN32_DLLFLAGS = $(HOST_LDFLAGS) $(HOST_LDLIBS)\
 	-subsystem:windows -dll -incremental:no $(LINK_OPT_FLAGS) -machine:I386 
 
 
 ARCH_DEP_CFLAGS =
 ARCH_DEP_CXXFLAGS = $(ARCH_DEP_CFLAGS)
-HOST_CFLAGS = $(HOST_SFLAGS) $(HOST_INCLUDES) $(OP_SYS_FLAGS)
+HOST_CFLAGS = $(HOST_SFLAGS) $(HOST_INCLUDES) $(OP_SYS_FLAGS) $(CXX_OPT_FLAGS)
  
 HOST_CXXFLAGS = $(HOST_CFLAGS)
  
@@ -126,7 +134,7 @@ COMPILE.c = $(CC) $(CFLAGS) $(CPPFLAGS) -c
 #	Problem: MS Visual C++ does not recognize  *.cc as C++ source,
 #	we have to compile xx.cc  using the flag -Tp xx.cc,
 #	i.e.  -Tp  has to be immediately before the source file name
-COMPILE.cc = $(CXX) $(CXXFLAGS) $(CPPFLAGS) -DEXPL_TEMPL -c -Tp
+COMPILE.cc = $(CXX) $(CXXFLAGS) $(CPPFLAGS) -c -Tp
 
 LINK.c=link $(LINK_OPT_FLAGS) $(LDFLAGS) -out:$@
 LINK.cc=$(LINK.c)
diff --git a/config/CONFIG_BASE b/config/CONFIG_BASE
index 330fc4363..75a610d0a 100644
--- a/config/CONFIG_BASE
+++ b/config/CONFIG_BASE
@@ -46,10 +46,11 @@ EPICS_BASE = $(INSTALL_LOCATION)
 
 #
 # this speeds up the build by turning off implicit rules search
-#
-.PHONY:: $(EPICS_BASE)/config/CONFIG
-.PHONY:: $(EPICS_BASE)/config/CONFIG.* $(EPICS_BASE)/config/CONFIG_* 
-.PHONY:: $(EPICS_BASE)/config/RULES.* $(EPICS_BASE)/config/RULES_* .DEPENDS
-.PHONY:: $(HOME)/.EPICS_CONFIG $(HOME)/.EPICS_CONFIG.$(HOST_ARCH)
+# for EPICS Makefiles (which are not created from other files)
+.PHONY:: $(TOP)/config/CONFIG
+.PHONY:: $(TOP)/config/CONFIG.* $(TOP)/config/CONFIG_* 
+.PHONY:: $(TOP)/config/RULES.* $(TOP)/config/RULES_* .DEPENDS
+.PHONY:: $(HOME)/EPICS_CONFIG $(HOME)/EPICS_CONFIG.$(HOST_ARCH)
 .PHONY:: ../Makefile.Vx ../Makefile.Unix ../Makefile.Host Makefile
 
+
diff --git a/config/CONFIG_COMMON b/config/CONFIG_COMMON
index 1a5bd1594..35fdabbd1 100644
--- a/config/CONFIG_COMMON
+++ b/config/CONFIG_COMMON
@@ -38,22 +38,25 @@ EPICS_EXTENSIONS_TEMPLATES    = $(EPICS_EXTENSIONS)/templates
 
 DIVIDER = .
 
+EPICS_BASE_HOST_BIN = $(EPICS_BASE)/bin/$(HOST_ARCH)
+
+
 # private versions of lex/yacc from EPICS
-EYACC = $(EPICS_BASE)/bin/$(HOST_ARCH)/antelope$(EXE)
-ELEX = $(EPICS_BASE)/bin/$(HOST_ARCH)/e_flex$(EXE) -S$(EPICS_BASE_INCLUDE)/flex.skel.static
+EYACC = $(EPICS_BASE_HOST_BIN)/antelope$(EXE)
+ELEX = $(EPICS_BASE_HOST_BIN)/e_flex$(EXE) -S$(EPICS_BASE_INCLUDE)/flex.skel.static
 
 # Default for perl if it's on the PATH,
 # otherwise override this in e.g. CONFIG_SITE
 PERL=perl
 
 # install from EPICS
-INSTALL = $(PERL) $(EPICS_BASE)/bin/$(HOST_ARCH)/installEpics.pl
+INSTALL = $(PERL) $(EPICS_BASE_HOST_BIN)/installEpics.pl
 INSTALL_PRODUCT = $(INSTALL)
 
 # dbtools from EPICS
 
 # state notation language compiler (installed from base/src/sequencer)
-SNC = $(EPICS_BASE)/bin/$(HOST_ARCH)/snc
+SNC = $(EPICS_BASE_HOST_BIN)/snc
 
 # vxWorks definitions
 VX_CONFIG_DIR = $(VX_DIR)/config
diff --git a/config/RULES_ARCHS b/config/RULES_ARCHS
index ffe5bc5f1..d1f8dc714 100644
--- a/config/RULES_ARCHS
+++ b/config/RULES_ARCHS
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
 # $Id$
 #
 #  EPICS RULES_ARCH
-#       by Matthew Needes and Mike Bordua and Janet Andersoni and Jeff Hill
+#       by Matthew Needes and Mike Bordua and Janet Anderson and Jeff Hill
 #
 
 all:: install
@@ -51,11 +51,11 @@ $(crossActionArchTargets) :
 $(crossArchs) : 
 endif
 
-$(hostDirs) : $(EPICS_BASE)/config/makeMakefile.pl
-	$(PERL) $(EPICS_BASE)/config/makeMakefile.pl $@ $(BUILD_TYPE)
+$(hostDirs) : 
+	$(PERL) $(INSTALL_BIN)/makeMakefile.pl $@ $(BUILD_TYPE)
 
-$(crossDirs) : $(EPICS_BASE)/config/makeMakefile.pl
-	$(PERL) $(EPICS_BASE)/config/makeMakefile.pl $@ Vx
+$(crossDirs) : 
+	$(PERL) $(INSTALL_BIN)/makeMakefile.pl $@ Vx
 
 #
 # host/cross action targets
diff --git a/config/RULES_DIRS b/config/RULES_DIRS
index feb07984f..533d3d3fb 100644
--- a/config/RULES_DIRS
+++ b/config/RULES_DIRS
@@ -30,11 +30,11 @@ rebuild:: clean all
 $(DIRS) $(dirActionTargets) $(dirArchTargets)$(dirActionArchTargets) ::
 	$(MAKE) -C $(dirPart) $(actionArchPart)
 
-$(ARCHS) $(installArchTargets) :%: \
+$(ARCHS) $(installArchTargets) ::%: \
 	$(foreach dir, $(DIRS), $(dir)$(DIVIDER)inc) \
 	$(foreach dir, $(DIRS), $(dir)$(DIVIDER)%)
 
-$(ACTIONS) $(actionArchTargets) :%: \
+$(ACTIONS) $(actionArchTargets) ::%: \
 	$(foreach dir, $(DIRS), $(dir)$(DIVIDER)%)