Windows 7: Mouse is Lagging - Is it Hardware or the OS?

I recently restored my Win7x64 system from a previous backup. It's running fine for the most part. However all of a sudden my mouse has been locking up on me. How can I diagnose if it's a hardware or software problem?

The "freeze" of movement lasts about 1-2 seconds.
It's seemingly random; occurring from once every few minutes to only a few times an hour.
It happens regardless of the programs or number of programs I'm running. Firefox, LibreOffice, games, etc.



Because it's so short of a lag and it happens randomly, I can't be totally sure if it's the OS or the mouse. However when I'm playing a game, everything in game continues unaffected so perhaps it is only my mouse control that lags. Hmmm.
I figure this is either some latency issue with my computer, or maybe my mouse itself is dying. Is there a diagnostics tool/software/app/method out there I can employ to figure out if my OS is just acting up, or if I need to buy a new mouse?

Thanks!

Work through these Troubleshooting Steps for Windows 7 - Windows 7 Forums making sure to establish a Clean Boot, test your RAM and HD.