I've ghosted my old OS and clean installed a fresh version to accomodate many new software programs that because of their bulk would not run smoothly if heaped on to the programs of my old OS. This may require me to switch  between the old OS image and the new one, maybe once a day. Question: Are there any wear and tear issues to worry about by restoring ghost images on a daily basis to the same drive?

using the word 'ghosted' as a verb is not good, cuz it does not say whether you mean that you created or restored an image, or cloned a partition or disk .. but i think i know what you'r saying.

i don't think there's any reason for concern. hard drives are designed to last many years (oops, i almost wrote 'tears' .. freudian slippage)

you could argue that anytime a disk reads or writes data that it contributes a certain amount of wear and tear .. just like defragging.

heat is a drive's biggest enemy .. physical & electrical shock are also other killers.  if you're concerned, make sure the drive is mounted in a cooler, and that your case has good ventillation .. and don't kick the case while your system is running.

may also want to try to mount the drive in the lower portion of your case .. where it's cooler (heat rises).