diff --git a/scripts/backup_restore/apply_cluster_postboot.sh b/scripts/backup_restore/apply_cluster_postboot.sh
index a53e59e6..e38f0c06 100755
--- a/scripts/backup_restore/apply_cluster_postboot.sh
+++ b/scripts/backup_restore/apply_cluster_postboot.sh
@@ -180,6 +180,68 @@ else
     echo "  (no source node dir to copy from)"
 fi
 
+# ── LXC bind-mount stub directories ───────────────────────
+# LXC containers with `mp<n>: /path,mp=...` bind-mount entries fail the
+# pre-start hook (status 2) if `/path` doesn't exist on the host. After a
+# cross-host restore the source's bind-mount paths (custom NAS mounts, second
+# disk paths, etc.) generally don't exist on the target's fresh install yet.
+# We create empty stubs so `onboot: 1` containers start; the operator wires
+# the real data source afterwards. PVE-managed storages (`/mnt/pve/*`) and
+# /dev/* are skipped — PVE handles the first, kernel handles the second.
+echo ""
+echo "── LXC bind-mount stubs ──"
+stub_created=0
+stub_skipped=0
+if compgen -G "/etc/pve/nodes/$CUR_NODE/lxc/*.conf" >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+    for conf in /etc/pve/nodes/"$CUR_NODE"/lxc/*.conf; do
+        [[ -f "$conf" ]] || continue
+        while IFS= read -r line; do
+            if [[ "$line" =~ ^mp[0-9]+:[[:space:]]*(/[^,]+), ]]; then
+                src="${BASH_REMATCH[1]}"
+                [[ "$src" == /mnt/pve/* ]] && continue
+                [[ "$src" == /dev/* ]]    && continue
+                if [[ -e "$src" ]]; then
+                    ((stub_skipped++))
+                    continue
+                fi
+                if mkdir -p "$src" 2>/dev/null; then
+                    echo "  + stub $src  (from $(basename "$conf"))"
+                    ((stub_created++))
+                fi
+            fi
+        done < "$conf"
+    done
+fi
+echo "Stubs: created=$stub_created, already-present=$stub_skipped"
+
+# ── Stale node-dir cleanup ────────────────────────────────
+# Fresh PVE install creates /etc/pve/nodes/<install-hostname>/. After our
+# restore changes the hostname back to the source's, pve-cluster boots into
+# the source's node dir but leaves the install-hostname dir orphaned. The
+# web UI then shows a phantom offline node. Only remove dirs whose lxc/
+# qemu-server/ are empty — never trample a real second cluster member.
+echo ""
+echo "── Stale node-dir cleanup ──"
+removed_nodes=0
+for nodedir in /etc/pve/nodes/*/; do
+    n=$(basename "$nodedir")
+    [[ "$n" == "$CUR_NODE" ]] && continue
+    lxc_empty=1; qemu_empty=1
+    [[ -d "$nodedir/lxc" ]] && [[ -n "$(ls -A "$nodedir/lxc"        2>/dev/null)" ]] && lxc_empty=0
+    [[ -d "$nodedir/qemu-server" ]] && [[ -n "$(ls -A "$nodedir/qemu-server" 2>/dev/null)" ]] && qemu_empty=0
+    if (( lxc_empty && qemu_empty )); then
+        if rm -rf "$nodedir" 2>/dev/null; then
+            echo "  ✓ removed stale node dir: $n"
+            ((removed_nodes++))
+        else
+            echo "  ✗ rm failed for $n (pmxcfs may have it busy)"
+        fi
+    else
+        echo "  ⚠ kept $n (has guest configs — looks like a real cluster member)"
+    fi
+done
+echo "Stale node dirs removed: $removed_nodes"
+
 # ── Done with cluster config apply ─────────────────────────
 echo ""
 echo "Cluster summary: globals=$copied_global, subdirs=$copied_subdirs, guests=$copied_guests, guest-clashes-skipped=$skipped_guests"
diff --git a/scripts/backup_restore/lib_host_backup_common.sh b/scripts/backup_restore/lib_host_backup_common.sh
index 444b3bb8..e7dd35db 100644
--- a/scripts/backup_restore/lib_host_backup_common.sh
+++ b/scripts/backup_restore/lib_host_backup_common.sh
@@ -257,10 +257,24 @@ hb_prepare_staging() {
                 )
             fi
 
-            # Runtime pending-restore data belongs in /var/lib/proxmenux, never in app code tree.
+            # /usr/local/share/proxmenux: ship USER STATE only (components_status.json,
+            # user prefs, post-install cache). NEVER ship code (scripts/, utils.sh, web/,
+            # AppImage/, monitor-app/) — destination has its own installed proxmenux which
+            # may be newer than the backup. Hot-applying the backup's old /scripts/ over
+            # the destination's fresh install silently regresses the apply_cluster_postboot
+            # dispatcher and the *_installer.sh --auto-reinstall hooks, breaking the
+            # "user reinstalls nothing" promise.
             if [[ "$rel" == "usr/local/share/proxmenux" || "$rel" == "usr/local/share/proxmenux/"* ]]; then
                 rsync_opts+=(
                     --exclude "restore-pending/"
+                    --exclude "scripts/"
+                    --exclude "web/"
+                    --exclude "monitor-app/"
+                    --exclude "AppImage/"
+                    --exclude "images/"
+                    --exclude "json/"
+                    --exclude "utils.sh"
+                    --exclude "helpers_cache.json"
                 )
             fi
 
diff --git a/scripts/gpu_tpu/nvidia_installer.sh b/scripts/gpu_tpu/nvidia_installer.sh
index c827aa78..d1a5ae86 100644
--- a/scripts/gpu_tpu/nvidia_installer.sh
+++ b/scripts/gpu_tpu/nvidia_installer.sh
@@ -1633,11 +1633,14 @@ auto_reinstall_from_state() {
     complete_nvidia_uninstall       >>"$LOG_FILE" 2>&1
   fi
 
-  if ! download_nvidia_installer    >>"$LOG_FILE" 2>&1; then
+  local installer
+  installer=$(download_nvidia_installer "$DRIVER_VERSION" 2>>"$LOG_FILE")
+  if [[ -z "$installer" || ! -f "$installer" ]]; then
     echo "Download failed — see $LOG_FILE" | tee -a "$LOG_FILE"
     return 2
   fi
-  if ! run_nvidia_installer         >>"$LOG_FILE" 2>&1; then
+  echo "Installer ready: $installer" >>"$LOG_FILE"
+  if ! run_nvidia_installer "$installer" >>"$LOG_FILE" 2>&1; then
     echo "Install failed — see $LOG_FILE" | tee -a "$LOG_FILE"
     return 2
   fi