How to simplify the ROM update?
 

OK, this is the second time I've updated the ROM on my phone. The update itself is easy enough, and it's pretty trivial to restore my contacts and basic phone data. But reinstalling all my software is lengthy process, and reconfiguring it all is a HUGE headache! I know that some people here are replacing their ROM images much more often than I am, so there must be some way to solve this that I haven't yet discovered.

What's the secret? How can I easily backup and restore all my applications (and all their settings) each time I replace the ROM image on my phone?

Well, I downloaded and am going to try Sprite backup in hopes it should do the trick. I made the backup, and it appears that it does backup your programs and everything stored on your device. I am seriously thinking about doing a hard reset and giving it a try to see how much work.

I agree. It takes a long time to get everything working right after a ROM update. Unfortunately, the thing that I love the most about the phone (the customability) is also a PITA too.

But is Sprite Backup able to separate your apps from the actual PPC code? If there's a way to restore just the apps, without wiping out any of the newly updated code, that would be great. But I'm not sure that's the case.

this has been discussed before, neither sprite nor spb backup will help you if you have changed/upgraded your rom because the backup files will simply replace any of the new rom system files with what you had previously, thus defeating the purpose of upgrading the ROM

That's what I expected. So the outstanding question is whether or not a tool exists that CAN backup and restore just the applications without trashing the newly updated ROM.

When I performed the last Mogul update, it took me nearly a week to get my phone back to where I wanted it. And even with experience, this one is also taking forever.

I have to:

1. Perform the actual update.
2. Restore my contacts and related phone info
3. Reinstall all my applications using their CAB files
4. Figure out which apps were installed using non-CAB methods (via direct download, for example) and reinstall those from their sites/sources
5. Set up all of my today screen stuff (weather, stocks, favorite callers, quicklinks to programs, etc.)
6. Set up all of the various other config changes that I've made (reassigning certain h/w keys, setting up ringtones, countless other miscellaneous settings)
7. Restablish all of my bluetooth pairings
8. Restablish all of my WiFi security pairings
9. Set up my VPN connection and other stuff for my day job
10. Set up all of the other config options for the apps that I installed in steps 3 and 4.

By the time I get most of this done, it will be a week later. And there will still be a few outstanding changes to be made.

There's got to be a better way! Some of the people on this site are updating their ROMs on a daily basis. How do they get this stuff done? Or are they all just using their phones with no customization whatsoever (yikes!)?