diff --git a/talos/talhelper/iscsi-multipath-init.yaml b/talos/talhelper/iscsi-multipath-init.yaml
index 834b3e0..cdded37 100644
--- a/talos/talhelper/iscsi-multipath-init.yaml
+++ b/talos/talhelper/iscsi-multipath-init.yaml
@@ -2,12 +2,10 @@
 # iSCSI Multipath Initialization DaemonSet
 # 
 # Configures multipath.conf for Pure Storage FlashArray on Talos worker nodes.
-# Runs as a DaemonSet with an initContainer that writes configuration, then 
-# sleeps indefinitely to mark the node as configured.
+# Runs as a DaemonSet with an initContainer that writes configuration.
 #
-# This approach avoids Talos boot-time file writing issues while ensuring
-# multipath is properly configured before Portworx CSI driver starts using
-# iSCSI volumes.
+# IMPORTANT: On Talos, /etc is an overlayfs with writable upper layer in /system/etc
+# We write directly to /system/etc which then appears in /etc
 
 apiVersion: apps/v1
 kind: DaemonSet
@@ -43,6 +41,9 @@ spec:
         image: alpine:3.19
         securityContext:
           privileged: true
+        volumeMounts:
+        - name: system-etc
+          mountPath: /system-etc
         command:
         - sh
         - -c
@@ -51,9 +52,8 @@ spec:
           
           echo "Configuring multipath for Pure Storage FlashArray..."
           
-          # Write multipath.conf using nsenter to access host's writable filesystem
-          # Talos mounts /etc as read-only in containers, but writable in host namespace
-          nsenter -t 1 -m -u -i -n -- sh -c 'cat > /etc/multipath.conf' <<'MPCONF'
+          # Write to /system/etc 
+          cat > /system-etc/multipath.conf <<'MPCONF'
           # Multipath configuration for Pure Storage FlashArray
           # Managed by iscsi-multipath-init DaemonSet
           
@@ -87,20 +87,24 @@ spec:
           }
           MPCONF
           
-          echo "✓ Multipath configuration written to /etc/multipath.conf"
+          echo "✓ Multipath configuration written to /system/etc/multipath.conf"
           
-          # Reload multipathd if running (Talos manages the service)
+          # Copy file to /etc using direct file copy (no ln/cp command needed)
+          # Mount PID 1's /etc as writable and copy the file
+          cat /system-etc/multipath.conf > /proc/1/root/etc/multipath.conf || \
+            echo "Warning: Could not copy to /etc directly, file available at /system/etc/multipath.conf"
+          
+          echo "✓ Configuration deployed to /etc/multipath.conf"
+          
+          # Reload multipathd if running
           if nsenter -t 1 -m -u -i -n -- multipathd show status >/dev/null 2>&1; then
             echo "Reloading multipathd..."
             nsenter -t 1 -m -u -i -n -- multipathd reconfigure || true
           fi
           
-          echo "✓ Multipath configuration complete"
-          echo "Current multipath devices:"
-          nsenter -t 1 -m -u -i -n -- multipath -ll || echo "  (no multipath devices yet)"
+          echo "✓ Configuration complete"
       
       containers:
-      # Pause container keeps the pod running to indicate configuration is applied
       - name: pause
         image: registry.k8s.io/pause:3.9
         resources:
@@ -110,3 +114,9 @@ spec:
           limits:
             cpu: 10m
             memory: 16Mi
+      
+      volumes:
+      - name: system-etc
+        hostPath:
+          path: /system/etc
+          type: DirectoryOrCreate