We're not talking about disk cloning here, but rather of using software in Windows to create an image file of the system partition, and of later restoring that partition where it belongs. Any such process carries dangers if not correctly carried out, but not doing any backup, or assuming that a restore will work when needed, have their dangers too. I think we are making too much of the dangers. I have used Ghost for around 10 years and Windows 7 imaging for 2, and I have never had a problem in all of that time. I must have done dozens of restores.
I, too, have used Ghost (DOS version) for 10 years. It has let me down a couple times not due to Ghost itself but probably the backup medium. I only use it now on an old laptop with Win2k which I image to a USB flash drive because the laptop is unable to power the USB HDD. I have used Macrium 2-3 times to clone XP images to nearly identical laptops. The original image was created on a USB hard drive on 1 laptop & then restored to the remaining 2, then specific drivers installed.
