Can I save upgrades before I use System Restore

[Michael]

I used system restore a few days ago and I then upgraded
everything I needed to. This takes a very long time since
all I have is a dial-up modem.
I have tried to save microsoft upgrades before but I
wasn't able to reistall them.
I need to use system restore to go back to an earlier
time in order to save all of my music files.
How do I go about doing this?
Can I retrieve the music files without using system
restore?

 

[Al Dykes]

I used system restore a few days ago and I then upgraded
everything I needed to. This takes a very long time since
all I have is a dial-up modem.
I have tried to save microsoft upgrades before but I
wasn't able to reistall them.
I need to use system restore to go back to an earlier
time in order to save all of my music files.
How do I go about doing this?
Can I retrieve the music files without using system
restore?

I've just started to see the term "system restore" in the context
of system reinstalls and upgrades, like this one.

In XP I see "system restore" in ControlPanel/System to me
it's a way to checkpoint a system and rollback if I screw
something up.

Is this being used to apply changes to a new system, something like
sysprep ? Can someone point me to something to read to see how
it works.

Thanks