Re:Limited useability (Score 1)

Great... so I assemble a new system with "patchable" hardware... only to find that the hardware is deffective. Now I'm left in a situation where I need software to patch the hardware. But I can't run the software because the hardware is defective...

Good point. Most likely users will obtain a spare PC just to serve the function of getting the patches and transferring them to the dead PC. Better idea is to create a bootable floppy or cd rom that can connect to the internet and can bypass failing hardware but then again, if the NIC fails....