If your workflow absolutely requires Windows 7, treating your Acronis backups like gold is the only way to ensure your system survives unexpected hardware failures. If you'd like, let me know: What storage capacity is your current Windows 7 hard drive?

Given the support changes, you have several legitimate paths forward.

Directly clone an old HDD to a new SSD without reinstalling Windows 7 — a popular upgrade path for extending the life of older machines.