Hello-
I’m reaching out for advice on proper procedure I can’t seem to find in the Acronis documentation. I’ve been using True Image for years now but only doing full disk backups. It finally occurred to me that using this method to restore everything to a new computer in the event of a loss to my laptop would result in weeks of reauthorizing all software, plugins, etc. If I understand it correctly cloning my SSD will reduce or eliminate the need to reauthorize everything. In reading Acronis documentation they’re saying I can’t use a USB drive to restore from so I shouldn’t use one (laptop limitation). I’ve read a few posts from Jim Roseberry where he mentions simply creating a bootable copy but I’m not sure if this applies to laptops. I’m fairly competent with computers but am weak in this area. Thank you in advance for any direction you may have for me! If my laptop goes down I’ll likely invest in a properly built one by Jim!

Lenovo 720 laptop (I7, Quad Core, Samsung 512GB SSD)

There is a much better alternative to cloning -- system imaging.  A system image backup creates a copy of the file in a compressed, proprietary format (like a zipped file).  The obvious advantage is that you use less space, and (unlike with cloning) you can keep multiple copies of the image files on your backup drive.
 
As far as having to re-authorize all of your plugins after a restore -- that's not necessary if you're doing regular backups.  For example I do my system image backups once a month, and if I need to restore, I can just do it from the most recent backup.  Since that is a snapshot of my system - with all of my activations intact - there is nothing I have to do after the restore.  The exception "might" be if I replace the hard drive, since some copy protection wants to be re-authorized if it detects new hardware. Still, even in that case, it's only likely to affect a few of your plugins.
 
Finally, you want to create bootable rescue media in True Image (a USB flash drive is common) and always use that to backup and restore your system. I strongly recommend AGAINST trying to backup and restore from within Windows. Think about it:  Windows is running, while trying to back up itself. There are just too many things that can go wrong - and often do!  Instead, by booting off the flash drive, you're performing a nice clean backup/restore.  Most importantly, this method protects you in a worst case scenario where your system is unbootable and can only be restored with rescue media.

If you are planning to restore an image, or clone the drive, onto the original computer hardware with just a new drive, that shouldn't be a problem.
 
But!  If you are moving to a new computer, starting with a clean Windows install is the only guaranteed method for success.  Then you could mount the previous image on an external drive and copy any needed files/folders over from your old build.  This would still require reinstalling all applications and plugins from scratch, plus re-authorizing things.
 
Attempting to restore a bootable image, or move a cloned system drive from another existing system could be risky, but might be possible if you are using Windows 10.  The hardware changes should be automatically reconfigured in Windows 10.  However, if you are on Win7 or Win8.1, forget about it.  The older versions of Windows could not handle major hardware changes gracefully.
 
Even after Win10 boots successfully on completely new hardware, any software activation or authorizations tied to the hardware ID will probably be rejected and will need to be re-activated.  This would include Windows.  So plan accordingly.

Thanks you guys! It sounds like my thought process was flawed in the first place. I can’t avoid the process of re-authorizing everything if I’m setting up a new computer. If my current laptop gives up the ghost or the SSD has an issue I will replace it with a desktop and not look back. I’m not happy with the laptop (quality control issues plus it never leaves my work area). A clean install of everything will be better when the time comes.

The activation methods for various apps and plugs vary. These days most of them, like Windows, use some sort of hash derived from various values available from the hardware itself, that will in effect detect that there has been a "significant" change in the hardware. Windows additionally keeps a record of the hardware hash in the activation servers as part of the digital license, which allows you to reinstall or restore to the same machine without a problem. Restoring an image or clone of your system will not carry the Windows activation/digital license to a new device. So moving to a new machine would likely require that Windows would need to be re-activated as well as the applications. For applications that limit the number of authorizations, it is important to remember that some of them require the app to be de-authorized or uninstalled from the original computer in order not to burn one of the authorizations. Windows, if it was a separate purchase and not installed on the computer when you bought it, might be licensed to allow you to move it, or you might be able to talk an MS rep to allow it via phone authentication. Technically most pre-purchased Windows installations are not permitted to be moved.

slartabartfast
Windows, if it was a separate purchase and not installed on the computer when you bought it, might be licensed to allow you to move it, or you might be able to talk an MS rep to allow it via phone authentication. Technically most pre-purchased Windows installations are not permitted to be moved.

I believe that is the key technical difference between the retail and OEM versions of Windows.  The OEM license is cheaper because it is supposed to be "per machine", and not transferable. 
 
But in practice I think some have stretched the usage of the OEM copies that were purchased separately from a computer vs. the pre-installed OEM licenses.  Microsoft has apparently obfuscated that issue by being deliberately vague, and not enforcing the sales of OEM Windows only with hardware.  MS supplies the Windows OEM licenses to resellers that sell them a la carte everywhere online. 

The OEM license is tied to a particular "machine".
That single machine can be upgraded with new components... and the license is still completely legit.
What you can't do is install (authorize) that OEM copy on a second machine.

If you are crazy into reading unenforced license terms, the only recent "OEM" version of Windows that was officially allowed to be installed by individuals (as opposed to companies/builders licensed directly by MS) was a "builder's version" of Windows 7 which recognized the fact that most of us who were building our own machine were installing the cheaper version. The license for that version specifically said that you could move it to a new machine. Then of course they dropped that reasonable licensing in subsequent versions. The standard OEM license either says it must be installed by a licensed builder, or that it must be installed using an installation system that was only licensed to those builders. Single install discs of non-retail versions with single computer activation keys have been widely and openly available for decades from computer parts distributors, and I doubt they would have been able to move thousands of those units if MS were actively enforcing their terms. I have never heard of anyone using the OEM versions on single systems having problems installing or activating, and many have had the experience of having an MS employee allow them to move the activation to a new system by calling the activation center by telephone, even though the license does not allow that. 

slartabartfast
I have never heard of anyone using the OEM versions on single systems having problems installing or activating, and many have had the experience of having an MS employee allow them to move the activation to a new system by calling the activation center by telephone, even though the license does not allow that. 

I've had to do this a couple of times - you never actually have to speak to an MS employee. It's all automated, and it's worked both times for me.
 
Also, if you call on your smart phone, they'll give you the option of typing the verification code in on your phone's browser (they text a link to you), which is far easier than doing it via voice recognition.

I had a home built system with an old Intel CPU originally with Vista but upgraded using a purchased Win 7 OEM version.  I replaced it with a new home built system with new motherboard and CPU (an i7 3770).  Microsoft activated the Win 7 OEM version that I had without problems on the new hardware.  But, I had to actually speak to a "real" person (in the US), the automated system wouldn't do it.
 
The new "digital entitlement" that is used now in Win 10 eliminates that.  I upgraded to the free Win 10 with the i7 3770 system when it first came out.  Almost 2 years ago I built a new system (my current system) and as I had "digital entitlement" there was no activation issue with the new system.  I booted up (using the drive from the old system) and Win 10 did what it needed to do for the new hardware and I logged in with my Microsoft account and that was it.  I was up on Win 10 with the new system.  It would have worked the same way if I had done a "clean" new install with Win 10.