Help Should I Factory data Reset?

[swp4lfe]

I finally updated to 4.0.4 and it is still buggy just as 4.0.3 was for me but i never did a factory reset. Im scared to lose any information and all my apps. I have about 182 apps on my phone and i heard that they all will be deleted. I was wondering how to avoid losing my information. I have samsung kies and backed up my files but how will I get my apps back? Should I write down every app i have and then do the reset?

Can someone tell me what exactly will get wiped clean and what i should do to prevent losing any data. I know I should backup with Kies, BUT everytime i try KIES crashes (Kies has stopped working) error.

I will sync my contacts thru gmail. I will move everything under downloads to SD card. Im more worried about the apps. Will I be able to re download them without paying again?

Sorry for all the repeating questions but i dont want any problems.

 

[Atma]

Yes, you should do a factory reset after updating. Data like pictures or videos on your internal storage will still be there. You will lose all your apps, but you won't have to pay again. Apps you have paid for are tied to the email account you use at the play store so you can put them on any device without paying again. Google should restore your contacts and possibly even your apps. Do you really need 182 apps though?

When you go to the play store, press the menu button on your phone and then select the all tab and you can see all the apps you have so you don't need to write them down. Before you reset, you can also download something like App Backup & Restore. It can backup apps for you and you can restore them after the reset. It won't backup the app's data though.

You said you have Kies and did a backup or no?

What OS do you have? Try uninstalling Kies again. Delete the Samsung folder that Kies makes. Clean out your 'temp' folder. Disable your anti-virus until you install Kies again.