Help sprint update caused boot loop yesterday (unrooted)

[zarraza]

I have an out of warranty sprint Galaxy S (Samsung Epic, so I hope this is the correct forum) that gave me a friendly reminder last night that there was a system update.
i downloaded the system update, fully charged the battery (because it wouldn't complete the update without an almost full battery) and shortly thereafter, the phone goes from the sprint 4g logo to the galaxy S screen and back and forth - it's been doing it for at least 12 hours.

question is - how do i put it back to the way it was? i don't want to root it, i don't want any custom stuff, i just want a factory reset or whatever -
does the update process create some sort of backup in the event something like this happens?
i have (or should i say HAD) a bunch of apps that are no longer available in the market for whatever reason, and didn't have them backed up anywhere so i'd like to be able to put it back to the way it was before the update happened - is it possible, or am i hosed?

If I have to i will root it, as this may be looked at as a blessing in disguise, BUT, i would rather have it back the way it was - mostly because i don't even know where to start in the rooting process and really don't want to make it any worse than it already is.

 

[zarraza]

update - found that pressing volume down / camera / power gets me to the restore menu - so my next question is.....if i choose to install update from the SD card (as that's where i'm assuming android stores the file since RAM/ROM in phone is too small) what directory is that located in?
i will do a factory reset if i have to, but i'd like to see if i can save this now and finish the update that apparently had issues.

 

[Shine.]

update - found that pressing volume down / camera / power gets me to the restore menu - so my next question is.....if i choose to install update from the SD card (as that's where i'm assuming android stores the file since RAM/ROM in phone is too small) what directory is that located in?
i will do a factory reset if i have to, but i'd like to see if i can save this now and finish the update that apparently had issues.

That does not make sence because volume down+power(not camera)+home is Download mode! You must mean volume up!

No you cant do it through your phone like that, try the factory reset,and clear the cashe(i think you can clear it in your recovery) and try that. If that does not solve your problem you will have to flash a stock rom and ill be happy to guide you through that process