Abstract: An apparatus, system, and method are disclosed for updating software components while preserving data associated with the software and optionally converting the data to a new format. Persistent memory is used to preserve data structures associated with software components during the software update process, which may be accomplished by save and restore functions intrinsic to the software component being updated. The present invention includes, in one embodiment, a persistent data registry used to register each data structure saved in persistent memory during a software update. A data structure information record may be used to register each data structure in the persistent data registry. The present invention incorporates individual conversion of each data structure to facilitate adding, deleting, or modifying data structures during the software update process to accommodate the requirements of the updated software.