Backups to pc?

[engineer]

I have a rooted nexus 7 and I know how to do a nandroid backup and a Titanium Pro Backup for the apps. But all these would be useless if the tablet is lost or stolen. So, what does one need to copy to a separate computer to be able to restore everything in case of disaster? In the windows world one would make an image backup to an external hdd. But I'm not sure with Android.

I imagine copying the nandroid and Titanium backups should be the minimum (assuming I can find where these files are located in the nexus..... ), but what else should be copied to a different computer? Are the nandroid and Titanium backups alone enough to restore everything or do I need to copy more of the root, sdcard, other folders, etc?

Appreciate advice from the experts.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 2

[bjs229]

Your root toolkit should be able to make a nandroid backup and store it in a folder on the PC. Or just copy and paste it into a folder on your own USB style. Titanium backup file can be imported from the computer as well. If you go into the Titanium menu and hit import you get a list of different options. I usually store one of each on drop box or Google drive.
The backup will be in your custom recovery folder somewhere if you have one. I use TWRP and it is in there. The file usually has the date as the default file name unless you specified otherwise.
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[birdastrompgman]

A Nandroid backup should be all you need, but I've had a disproportionate percentage of them fail checksum during restore attempts.  I manually copy the entire sdcard contents to my PC for added assurance.

[loociddreemr]

Titanium has an option to automatically back up to your Dropbox. A nandroid is very similar to a disk image. It is a complete copy of your system and user apps, settings and data. Like Bird said, copying them to a PC can cause errors because of the large file sizes. The blobs method in CWM breaks the files up into smaller packets which has less chance of error, but the entire CWM folder must be copied, not just the individual backup.

Sent From my Razr Maxx(W.K.Y.A.98.72.16.XT912.v4.7-R3Ds) via Tapatalk 2

[NordieBoy]

I do a Titanium backup to an OTG cabled USB stick.

[engineer]

Thanks for the explanations. That helps.

Just to clarify, because I'm new to android:
In the windows world, a file backup is fine for data restore. But a file backup will not restore the OS, which is why an image backup is needed. Are you saying, that is not the case in android and that a simple file backup of the entire sdcard to another device can be used to restore both the android OS and data?

Should the manual copy of the sdcard include the root? Or, in the case of the Nexus, just what is in the sdcard directory/folder?

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[S.Prime]

In Android your device has to have root access, in other words, it must be rooted to do a nandroid backup. Copying the contents of the sdcard folder will only backup the files in that folder. Since Jellybean the onboard memory is no longer partitioned for OS and Storage separately. We now have one partition with read and write restrictions on the OS and App folders.

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[loociddreemr]

A nandroid is a compressed image backup. Titanium only backs up data files and apps.

Sent From my Razr Maxx(W.K.Y.A.98.72.16.XT912.v4.7-R3Ds) via Tapatalk 2

[engineer]

Yes I understand the difference between rooted and unrooted access. And I also know that Titanium only backs up apps and their data.

My real question is, in a rooted nexus 7, can a file backup of everything from the nexus root and out, to a folder on a windows laptop, be used to later restore a working android OS (and apps and data)? In the windows world a regular file backup will NOT restore the OS and installed programs. That is why in the windows world an "image" backup - which is different from a file backup - is necessary to restore a working windows OS. Is there a similar difference in the android world?

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[engineer]

After reading elsewhere I think I now understand.

I had assumed that if I was rooted and mounted root I could manually copy and paste it back and forth. Now I understand that is not possible which explains where I was going wrong.
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[birdastrompgman]

You need an image backup to restore your OS with apps & data & photos. A Nandroid backup is an image backup.

About 25% of my Nandroid restore attempts fail, an unacceptable % for me. By copying the sdcard directory, I know I will have my photos, documents, etc. I can restore the OS/ROM, copy the sdcard contents, & restore the apps with Titanium BU when my Nandroids fail.

I'm not the lowest of the low, but I am the slowest of the slow (49.5 mpg over 42k miles in  Scion xB)

[engineer]

One of the options in nandroid is to use compression. Do you use compression Bird? Have you noticed if compression has an effect on the restore failure rate?

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[bjs229]

After reading elsewhere I think I now understand.

I had assumed that if I was rooted and mounted root I could manually copy and paste it back and forth. Now I understand that is not possible which explains where I was going wrong.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 2

Nandroid .Not copy and paste but kind of sorta. Either USB or thru recovery.

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[birdastrompgman]

One of the options in nandroid is to use compression. Do you use compression Bird? Have you noticed if compression has an effect on the restore failure rate?

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 2

No, I don't compress my Nandroids.

I'm not the lowest of the low, but I am the slowest of the slow (49.5 mpg over 42k miles in  Scion xB)