Windows 7 - Windows freezing up

I imagine there could be a thousand reasons why this is happening, but over the last several days, my machine is freezing up several times a day. I have to shut down completely with the power button; can't restart, everything open is locked. This is extremely aggravating. I do extensive daily maintenance and am wondering if it could be a recent software install. I realize this is a very broad query but would appreciate any ideas you all may have. ec

This could be bad RAM.
Run memtest86 to check for any errors (running in basic mode will suffice).

What do you mean by extensive daily maintenance?

Could be caused by over heating. Are the vents free of dust bunnies?

Try running Speedfan, see what it says about system temperatures.

If temps are okay you could try doing a System Restore to before this started happening, see if that fixes it.

How to do a: System Restore

Thanks for your replies. I don't know if it's overheated; I keep the box on a high table away from the wall and have it set to sleep/shutdown after a fairly short time but I'll try your Speefan suggestion. Daily maintenance, besides several running varied virus/malware checks: CCleaner, disk cleanup, sfc /scannow and chkdsk/r. I don't know how to run Memtest86 in basic mode; I've spent over an hour trying to download and create an .iso image on a CD of Memtest86 in Roxio Creator, with no success. I've tried to open/extract the downloaded Memtest it with 7-zip console which is installed but I can't get it to zip/open the Memtest. System Restore hasn't worked in a couple of years and there's no way I can get it to work; I've tried everything there is to fix it (another vexing problem). I have just about everything backed up with Acronis, Carbonite, external disks but the thought of a clean Windows install makes me ill. ec

Huh? Download the .iso of memtest86 and burn it straight on to a disk.

Ver 4.0a - Windows (zip) ISO image for creating bootable CD

Download that.
Extract it.
Burn the .iso to a disk.
Reboot your computer into the CD and go from there.

I'd say your daily maintenance is excessive but probably harmless UNLESS you are running the registry cleaner in CCleaner. It is excellent as those things go, but unnecessary in all but extreme cases.

Do you have an ordinary Windows installation disc?

Have you considered a repair install as opposed to a clean install?

Roxio may not be the sharpest knife in the drawer for burning an ISO.

Are you getting memtest from here:

Memtest86+ - Advanced Memory Diagnostic Tool

I would not be running that much maintenance daily as it is overkill.

Work through these troubleshooting steps.

Pay close attention also to the steps given at the end to get a perfect clean reinstall and the few monthly maintenance steps suggested which would work better for you once you get a baseline perfect install.

I couldn't agree more. Under-maintenance is bad but Over-maintenance is very, very bad.

You say that you have everything backed up on Acronis. Please restore the image before the trouble began and then go dead slow with your daily maintenance.