Now that is strange!! Those are the types of things that can usually be fixed by simply updating the driver... and it's usually in Vista where those problems crop up. Although, some drivers work better with different cards. What I'm saying is sometimes the most recent driver won't necessarily be the best driver for *your* card. So perhaps that is the case here?
It appears that Forceware 89.24 is the optimal driver for GeForce 4 series cards. So, Eriel, maybe try downgrading to that version? I'm shooting from the hip so to speak, but hopefully this helps.
Edit: I forgot to mention, the source I got that information from hasn't been updated in about a year and a half, so there more than likely is a better driver to be used with that card.