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I've done a lot of research on solutions similar to DeepFreeze (partly thanks to this site).

I have found the following software to be acceptable or even better than DeepFreeze.

Rollback Rx - Allows backup and restore (including auto-restore for public-access computers). It also allows snapshots and the ability to restore back and forward to any snapshot. It can also restore individual files from snapshots as well. However, this software does come with a price tag so it is not free.

Drive Vaccine PC Restore - Allows backup and restore and is specially designed for public-access computers. It can restore the PC whenever the PC is idle or when the user logs off or during a reboot or just the 1st reboot of the day or based on a schedule. It also can auto-accept OS patches and anti-virus updates. An "immune" area can be defined to allow persistent storage for data files so they are not wiped out when a restore is performed. This software also comes with a price tag but it is cheaper than Rollback Rx.

DriveImage XML - This can backup and restore an entire PC but can also make scheduled backups while the OS is running to overwrite a single backup file or to create a new backup file each time. To restore the system when the OS cannot be booted, you need to create a WinPE boot disc. They have instructions on how to use BartPE to create the rescue CD but this should be done BEFORE a restore is required. It is free for personal use but requires a license for commercial use.

Redo Backup and Recovery - This can backup and restore an entire PC even if the OS cannot be booted. However, to create and restore backups, you have to boot the system with a CDROM. This means it is a manual process. The backup files can reside on a network storage device or a locally attached device such as a USB hard drive which is handy for keeping offsite copies for disaster recovery. It boots Ubuntu and has a nice graphical interface. It is free for personal or commercial use!

Clonezilla - This does pretty-much the same thing as Redo and is also free. However, it uses a text-based interface which is a bit on the techy side.