Software upgrades/patches that auto install: can files be backed up?

I don't know if this violates AUP or not, not trying to. But if it does, my apologies and please lock the thread.

Anyway, have software I purchased (expensive) have the license, everything's legit. Customers come in droves to the software support site because the first release (v. 1.0)is riddled with some serious bugs rendering it pretty much worthless. So a free upgrade/patch (v. 2.0) is given, but it's an auto download. Can't do a "save to disk" so there's no way to backup the upgrade. This poses problems should a reinstall be necessary (format C:, or PC upgrade down the road, etc.) . I get my upgrade to v. 2.0 in November, 2005. Software maker says anyone needing the 2.0 upgrade after 1/1/2006 will have to order it on CD and pay a fee for it. My question: is there a way, if I locate the ugrade/patch files on my HD, to back it up, since it was an auto download/install? I'm concluding probably not, since files probably went to registry too, etc.?

Tia
~Kat

IMO, if you don't have a separate executable file, an unextracted .zip file or some such, you are probably out of luck. Most Windows programs do as you noted. They load into Windows and become part of it and the registry. To try and pull everything out, save it all and still have it in some form that could be installed again down the road would probably be impossible.

One option you have would be to use something like Acronis True Image or Norton Ghost to image your entire drive. Then if you have drive failure or corruption, you could restore your entire installation back from that image. (FWIW, I use an imaging program called Image for Windows.) Not exactly what you're looking for... :)

KatMac--Just a long shot. The update might have been downloaded as a self-executing file (although often it is "consumed" in the process). You could run a Search right after such a download (setting the Search parameters to the download day only) to see if you can find anything. I sometimes find such updates in Content.IE5 or in Temp folders.