I tried something like that and failed.
Let me rephrase it. I have a desktop computer. I want to connect via USB a hard drive from a laptop and produce an image of the laptop HDD on my desktop computer. Then I want to use that image on my desktop computer (of a laptop HDD) to plug in another drive using USB into my desktop computer and send the image of the laptop HDD made before to make a functionally identical HDD on the USB connected drive. I am willing to image a 500GB drive onto a slightly larger drive because I know they love to complain about not having enough sectors, etc.
First of all, let me out ....hahahahhahaha
Am i failing to understand this but u have a fren's laptop that needs a backup and that too on a USB Ext HDD. OK
Thats not a huge deal. But after understanding ur problem and reading the suggestion from
@USAFRet, he already gave u a good enough suggestion.
Or maybe ur failing to explain ur own problem. Whatever it is, if u r not happy with Macrium then try Image for DOS 3.32 (CUI & GUI) which is freely available from this youtube video, that i found few weeks back.
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3oQZnJEfVPc
Mind you this is only a iso file, so u need to burn it to a CD/DVD or a USB.
So i am also trying to understand the problem according to what u have written, u said.
I tried something like that and failed.
Let me rephrase it. I have a desktop computer. I want to connect via USB a hard drive from a laptop and produce an image of the laptop HDD on my desktop computer. Then I want to use that image on my desktop computer (of a laptop HDD) to plug in another drive using USB into my desktop computer and send the image of the laptop HDD made before to make a functionally identical HDD on the USB connected drive.
To produce or use that laptop image on ur desktop computer is technically not possible, if thats what u r looking for.
Because the audio,graphic and host of other software designed to work on a laptop will possibly not work on a desktop (there is a difference).
Let alone not forget the one time OEM license key that is required to work on a laptop will not work on a desktop. Are u understanding.
But i understood ur problem, i have been in this business of backup/restore for almost 15 years and i know thats not possible.
Hell its not possible with the image created by Win 7 default back image file.
So u need to make ur friend understand that is not possible in entire world right now, nor never will be. The term used is "Clonning", that is to make an exact copy of ur HDD to multiple HDD for future use in case of BSOD or other difficulties. Of course there is Amazon, u can buy something like from a company like "Oricho" that would do the job.
But if ur not happy with Macrium, do check the Image for DOS 3.32.
But what u want is not possible, so save ur time and make ur friend understand the situation.