Complex issue - like a hardware freezee, but only on Windows

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Hello all, I'm looking for some guidance on how to understand a complicated issue I'm having on my machine. Basic specs:

MoBo: ECS 650i SLI
CPU: Core 2 Duo E6420
RAM: 2GB DDR2 @800MHz
GPU: GeForce 7600GT 256MB
OS: Dual-boot Windows XP SP2 / Fedora Core 8
About 10 months of use, no overclocking of any kind.

It goes like this: a short while after I started to use the (new) computer, it started to have graphical glitches on BIOS screen after a reboot from Windows (but never from a cold start and much more rarely from a reboot from Linux). If I tried to start XP with the glitches it would fail (0x7F blue screen, one often associated with GPU issues); Linux startup process would go through normally despite the glitches, however. Since a few extra reboots would get rid of the glitches (allowing me to boot to either OS normally) and there were no other problems during normal usage (GPU-related or otherwise - 3D accelerated gaming on Windows worked perfectly for instance), after some research I assumed it was some odd issue with drivers not clearing GPU RAM properly or something like that and left it as it was.

Problem is, since a few days ago Windows XP is failing. The system goes to a complete freeze after a few minutes of use - often there is not enough time to try hardly anything, not even reinstalling nVidia drivers. Common sense would tell me my GPU was bad from the start, but here is the strangest thing: Fedora 8 works perfectly as ever - no glitches, no crashes, nothing (I am typing this message comfortably from it). Even those fancy 3D effects of my KDE desktop are activated, so it's not like I'm stressing the GPU any less than on Windows. I still need XP for a few tasks I haven't found (yet) a proper Linux alternative, however, and I want to prevent further escalation of possible hardware issues. So, can anybody give me advice on where to start investigating, and on possible causes for this bizarre behaviour? Thanks in advance!
 
1. check drivers
2. check bios for latest version
3. check ram with memtest 86+ booted from floppy/cd
4. check psu with a tester tool
5. check registry for corruption. use ccleaner registry repair or glarysoft
 
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