diff --git a/backend/build.py b/backend/build.py
index 5ab9e1d..f48268e 100644
--- a/backend/build.py
+++ b/backend/build.py
@@ -10,14 +10,40 @@ import os
 import shutil
 
 
+def clean_build_cache(script_dir):
+    """Clean old build artifacts that may cause stale spec file issues."""
+    dirs_to_clean = [
+        os.path.join(script_dir, "build"),
+        os.path.join(script_dir, "__pycache__"),
+    ]
+    files_to_clean = [
+        os.path.join(script_dir, "build", "backend.spec"),
+    ]
+
+    for f in files_to_clean:
+        if os.path.exists(f):
+            print(f"Removing old spec file: {f}")
+            os.remove(f)
+
+    for d in dirs_to_clean:
+        pycache = os.path.join(d)
+        if os.path.exists(pycache) and "__pycache__" in pycache:
+            print(f"Removing cache: {pycache}")
+            shutil.rmtree(pycache)
+
+
 def build():
     """Build the backend executable."""
     script_dir = os.path.dirname(os.path.abspath(__file__))
 
+    # Clean old build cache to avoid stale spec file issues
+    clean_build_cache(script_dir)
+
     # PyInstaller command with --onedir for faster startup
     cmd = [
         sys.executable, "-m", "PyInstaller",
         "--onedir",
+        "--clean",  # Clean PyInstaller cache before building
         "--name", "backend",
         "--distpath", "dist",
         "--workpath", "build",
@@ -39,9 +65,11 @@ def build():
         "--hidden-import", "starlette",
         "--hidden-import", "pydantic",
         "--hidden-import", "pydantic_core",
-        # Database
+        # Database - MySQL
         "--hidden-import", "mysql.connector",
         "--hidden-import", "mysql.connector.pooling",
+        # Database - SQLite (built-in, but ensure it's included)
+        "--hidden-import", "sqlite3",
         # HTTP client
         "--hidden-import", "httpx",
         "--hidden-import", "httpcore",
@@ -56,7 +84,9 @@ def build():
         "--hidden-import", "python_multipart",
         # Environment loading
         "--hidden-import", "dotenv",
-        # Application modules
+        # Timezone data
+        "--hidden-import", "tzdata",
+        # Application modules - only include modules that exist
         "--hidden-import", "app",
         "--hidden-import", "app.main",
         "--hidden-import", "app.config",
diff --git a/client/src/main.js b/client/src/main.js
index 7c61708..929f281 100644
--- a/client/src/main.js
+++ b/client/src/main.js
@@ -423,6 +423,21 @@ function startSidecar() {
           if (msg.status === "model_loaded" && mainWindow) {
             mainWindow.webContents.send("model-download-progress", msg);
           }
+
+          // Forward model cached status (model was already downloaded)
+          if (msg.status === "model_cached" && mainWindow) {
+            mainWindow.webContents.send("model-download-progress", msg);
+          }
+
+          // Forward incomplete cache status
+          if (msg.status === "incomplete_cache" && mainWindow) {
+            mainWindow.webContents.send("model-download-progress", msg);
+          }
+
+          // Forward model error status
+          if (msg.status === "model_error" && mainWindow) {
+            mainWindow.webContents.send("model-download-progress", msg);
+          }
         } catch (e) {
           console.log("Sidecar output:", line);
         }
diff --git a/client/src/pages/meeting-detail.html b/client/src/pages/meeting-detail.html
index 2699fb5..ab1a75d 100644
--- a/client/src/pages/meeting-detail.html
+++ b/client/src/pages/meeting-detail.html
@@ -319,16 +319,25 @@
         whisperStatusEl.textContent = `⬇️ Downloading ${progress.model}: ${percent}% (${downloadedMb}/${totalMb} MB)`;
         whisperStatusEl.style.color = '#ff9800';
       } else if (progress.status === 'model_downloaded') {
-        whisperStatusEl.textContent = `✅ ${progress.model} downloaded`;
+        whisperStatusEl.textContent = `✅ ${progress.model} downloaded, loading...`;
         whisperStatusEl.style.color = '#28a745';
+      } else if (progress.status === 'model_cached') {
+        whisperStatusEl.textContent = `✅ ${progress.model} cached, loading...`;
+        whisperStatusEl.style.color = '#28a745';
+      } else if (progress.status === 'incomplete_cache') {
+        whisperStatusEl.textContent = `⚠️ ${progress.model} cache incomplete, re-downloading...`;
+        whisperStatusEl.style.color = '#ff9800';
       } else if (progress.status === 'loading_model') {
         whisperStatusEl.textContent = `⏳ Loading ${progress.model}...`;
         whisperStatusEl.style.color = '#ffc107';
       } else if (progress.status === 'model_loaded') {
-        whisperStatusEl.textContent = `✅ Ready`;
+        whisperStatusEl.textContent = `✅ Model ready`;
         whisperStatusEl.style.color = '#28a745';
         // Trigger a status refresh
         updateWhisperStatus();
+      } else if (progress.status === 'model_error') {
+        whisperStatusEl.textContent = `❌ Error: ${progress.error || 'Model load failed'}`;
+        whisperStatusEl.style.color = '#dc3545';
       }
     });
 
diff --git a/sidecar/build.py b/sidecar/build.py
index 5632a5d..9de586d 100644
--- a/sidecar/build.py
+++ b/sidecar/build.py
@@ -1,29 +1,66 @@
 #!/usr/bin/env python3
 """
 Build script for creating standalone transcriber executable using PyInstaller.
+Uses --onedir mode for faster startup compared to --onefile.
 """
 
 import subprocess
 import sys
 import os
+import shutil
+
+
+def clean_build_cache(script_dir):
+    """Clean old build artifacts that may cause stale spec file issues."""
+    dirs_to_clean = [
+        os.path.join(script_dir, "build"),
+        os.path.join(script_dir, "__pycache__"),
+    ]
+    files_to_clean = [
+        os.path.join(script_dir, "build", "transcriber.spec"),
+    ]
+
+    for f in files_to_clean:
+        if os.path.exists(f):
+            print(f"Removing old spec file: {f}")
+            os.remove(f)
+
+    for d in dirs_to_clean:
+        pycache = os.path.join(d)
+        if os.path.exists(pycache) and "__pycache__" in pycache:
+            print(f"Removing cache: {pycache}")
+            shutil.rmtree(pycache)
 
 
 def build():
     """Build the transcriber executable."""
-    # PyInstaller command
+    script_dir = os.path.dirname(os.path.abspath(__file__))
+
+    # Clean old build cache to avoid stale spec file issues
+    clean_build_cache(script_dir)
+
+    # PyInstaller command with --onedir for faster startup
     cmd = [
         sys.executable, "-m", "PyInstaller",
-        "--onefile",
+        "--onedir",
+        "--clean",  # Clean PyInstaller cache before building
         "--name", "transcriber",
         "--distpath", "dist",
         "--workpath", "build",
         "--specpath", "build",
+        # Core dependencies
         "--hidden-import", "faster_whisper",
         "--hidden-import", "opencc",
         "--hidden-import", "numpy",
         "--hidden-import", "ctranslate2",
         "--hidden-import", "huggingface_hub",
+        "--hidden-import", "huggingface_hub.utils",
         "--hidden-import", "tokenizers",
+        # ONNX Runtime for VAD
+        "--hidden-import", "onnxruntime",
+        # Audio processing
+        "--hidden-import", "wave",
+        # Collect data files
         "--collect-data", "faster_whisper",
         "--collect-data", "opencc",
         "transcriber.py"
@@ -32,10 +69,12 @@ def build():
     print("Building transcriber executable...")
     print(f"Command: {' '.join(cmd)}")
 
-    result = subprocess.run(cmd, cwd=os.path.dirname(os.path.abspath(__file__)))
+    result = subprocess.run(cmd, cwd=script_dir)
 
     if result.returncode == 0:
-        print("\nBuild successful! Executable created at: dist/transcriber")
+        print("\nBuild successful!")
+        print("Executable created at: dist/transcriber/transcriber.exe (Windows) or dist/transcriber/transcriber (Linux)")
+        print("\nNote: The Whisper model will be downloaded on first run if not cached.")
     else:
         print("\nBuild failed!")
         sys.exit(1)
diff --git a/sidecar/transcriber.py b/sidecar/transcriber.py
index ccbcd95..ec25ef6 100644
--- a/sidecar/transcriber.py
+++ b/sidecar/transcriber.py
@@ -60,12 +60,31 @@ def check_and_download_whisper_model(model_size: str) -> bool:
     repo_cache_name = f"models--Systran--faster-whisper-{model_size}"
     model_cache_path = cache_dir / repo_cache_name
 
-    # Check if model files exist
+    # Check if model files exist - verify essential files are present
     if model_cache_path.exists():
         snapshots_dir = model_cache_path / "snapshots"
-        if snapshots_dir.exists() and any(snapshots_dir.iterdir()):
-            # Model is cached, no download needed
-            return True
+        if snapshots_dir.exists():
+            # Check for actual model files, not just any file
+            for snapshot in snapshots_dir.iterdir():
+                if snapshot.is_dir():
+                    # Essential faster-whisper model files
+                    required_files = ["model.bin", "config.json"]
+                    has_all_files = all(
+                        (snapshot / f).exists() for f in required_files
+                    )
+                    if has_all_files:
+                        print(json.dumps({
+                            "status": "model_cached",
+                            "model": model_size,
+                            "path": str(snapshot)
+                        }), flush=True)
+                        return True
+            # Snapshots exist but no valid model found
+            print(json.dumps({
+                "status": "incomplete_cache",
+                "model": model_size,
+                "message": "Model cache incomplete, will re-download"
+            }), flush=True)
 
     # Model not cached, need to download
     print(json.dumps({
@@ -491,20 +510,29 @@ class Transcriber:
 
         try:
             # Check if model needs to be downloaded (with progress reporting)
-            check_and_download_whisper_model(model_size)
+            download_ok = check_and_download_whisper_model(model_size)
+            if not download_ok:
+                print(json.dumps({
+                    "status": "model_error",
+                    "error": "Failed to download model"
+                }), flush=True)
+                raise RuntimeError("Failed to download Whisper model")
 
             # Now load the model
             print(json.dumps({"status": "loading_model", "model": model_size}), flush=True)
             self.model = WhisperModel(model_size, device=device, compute_type=compute_type)
             self.converter = opencc.OpenCC("s2twp")
-            print(json.dumps({"status": "model_loaded"}), flush=True)
+            print(json.dumps({"status": "model_loaded", "model": model_size}), flush=True)
 
             # Pre-load VAD model at startup (not when streaming starts)
             if ONNX_AVAILABLE:
                 self.vad_model = SileroVAD()
 
         except Exception as e:
-            print(json.dumps({"error": f"Failed to load model: {e}"}), flush=True)
+            print(json.dumps({
+                "status": "model_error",
+                "error": f"Failed to load model: {e}"
+            }), flush=True)
             raise
 
     def transcribe_file(self, audio_path: str, add_punctuation: bool = False) -> str: