Both appear to be stable I have used both although I have not restored with 5. I 4 you can verify your image when made. In 5 you can only verify after restore (unless I don't know how to do it). In 4 you have to do a linux recovery disk, in 5 you can do a linux recovery or can do a win PE disk(if you download WAIK in the free version) and without WAIK in the paid version. 5 has a clone feature. As best I can recall those are the major differences.
Get V5 - it is easier to use. And if you burn the WinPE CD, you cannot only use that to recover from an image but also use it to make images (on systems where you do not want to install Macrium).
I had thought there was an imaging option but, I may be wrong. I haven't had to use it in quite a while, thank goodness.
I have been using v5 since it was launched with no problems. There have been issues with some setups but these are quickly fixed. I would go with v5.
I found another imaging program called Paragon, how does that compare with Macrium? Which one is more intuitive and easier to use?
It has more features than Macrium free and I tried it out last year. I think I dropped it because the rescue disk couldn't find my backup drive. That may have changed now so it may be worth a try.
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