If you don't want to bother with running backup software like Macrium Reflect, DoYourClone should be a workable alternative. Macrium Reflect can clone disks &/or partitions, or you can simply restore a backup to a new location, so I can't see any use for DoYourClone, but that's me. Personally I believe in backing up your hard disks, and use Macrium Reflect for that.
The app itself takes up ~550MB in the program's folder, otherwise adding 2 drivers to Windows\ System32\ Drivers\. Win7 & Win8 on a USB stick are iffy regardless how you do it & Not recommended. However, it doesn't always work that way - maybe why Microsoft stopped offering Windows to Go in Win10.
I couldn't test it - this PC will not run Win7 - but if the USB stick boots for you Win10 &/or Win11 should attempt to download and install the drivers needed to run on different hardware. In my experience getting the boot loader to work on a USB stick is iffy, so again your mileage will likely vary. DoYourClone copied the contents of the entire disk, so it includes the boot files in their hidden partition, and it did alter the BCD boot loader to presumably make it work on a USB stick. The product page talks about basically creating a Windows to Go drive, cloning an existing copy of Windows to a USB stick / drive. I can't say anything about the compatibility of the bootable USB sticks it creates - your mileage may vary depending on the device you're trying to boot. Testing in my Win7 32-bit VM, I went the ISO route & it worked, bringing up a window that looked the same as the regular app. On the top left there's a link to create rescue media - you can use a drive or create an ISO to burn to disc. The button to activate is a noticeable key button on the lower left. Save | CancelÄoYourClone uses a simple GUI to do what it says, copy the raw data, either existing files or including free space, on a disk or partition to some other storage drive. Regardless, no icon for Do Your Clone means you are activated for lifetime. I agree that it would be nice if the developer were to confirm a program is registered in the About dialog some do some don't. Thus, there is no reason to display the key icon. In the case of a lifetime (such as Do Your Clone), the time is already set to lifetime. Some will add the length of the new version to extend the license. Some will reset the expiration to the end of the newer version. Developers do handle the newer install differently. When version 2.8 is installed, it uses the information it finds in your system to determine whether it needs to display the key icon.
That means even the uninstaller programs that claim to remove all leftovers cannot totally remove the evidence that the program had been previously installed. Therefore, developers use a method that modifies parts of the registry in a way that they can use, but removing them would prevent your system from working properly.
Otherwise, users could use a program until the trial ran out, do an uninstall, then reinstall again for another trial period. When you did the uninstall of version 2.6, I am sure you presumed it removed all of version 2.6, but instead, the parts that indicate to the developer that the program has been installed and activated on your system before is left behind so they can find it later. >"I did that and then installed version 2.8 but can't see a key icon"