I’ve had this happen on a netbook, it just went dead and refused to show any signs of life. This was not as a result of an update but due to static build up. The cure was to remove the battery then hold in the power key. This discharged the static and brought the netbook back to life.
Great idea to post back here how you get on. I, and I expect many others, will be staying away from the 96 update service until certain we aren't going to experience the same fate.