If using a virtual machine (VM) rather than a multi-boot configuration, the problem of easily “restoring” the state of the PC is simplified.  VMware Workstation 6, for example, supports the concept of “snapshots,” which allow the user to “preserve the state of the virtual machine so you can return to the same state repeatedly.”  Although not “unattended,” such a “restore” involves nothing more complicated than clicking the Revert button on the VMware Workstation toolbar.

Alternatively, one could keep a duplicate of the VM in a separate folder, and automatically “restore” the VM by simply copying the saved .VMX and associated files to the original location.

As the popularity and ease of use of virtual machines increases, the role of multi-booting seems destined to gradually diminish, in my opinion.

I'd like to report that an unattended image restore can be done when the backup image is stored in a networked computer.

I used NetBootDisk. With Bart's Network Boot Disk, a password has to be entered each time so the procedure can't be automated.

http://www.netbootdisk.com/index.htm

NetBootDisk was installed to a bootable FAT partition (8 MB) and configured. I preferred FreeDOS as it booted faster than MS-DOS.

From Windows, a batch file starts the process. Your computer shuts down and restarts into DOS. Networking is established and an image in the other computer is restored to a partition in your computer. Your computer then restarts into the restored Windows OS. No user intervention.

I used TeraByte's BING and IFD but I'm sure it would work with Ghost 2003.

For automated process from CD/DVD check this one:
http://radified.com/cgi-bin/yabb2/YaBB.pl?num=1217024697/