When I install Internet Information Server on a Windows machine that is fully patched according to Windows Update, will it be installed as patched right from the start?
I have always wondered if any patching inconsistencies could arise from the fact that all available patches (some of which might affect IIS) are marked as installed, but at the point in time they were installed IIS was not on the system and the files they would have affected were not there.
No, IIS will be at the level of your installation source. Your system does not download updates it does not think it needs.