Problem with the gdi32.dll library

Hi, I have a serious problem with Windows XP connected to the gdi32.dll library. I use WXP Professional with Service Pack 2 with the latest hotfixes except for those released on Tuesday 12th February. To tell it completely from the beginning, after the start of Windows I got an error message telling me that some system registry files had had to be recovered using their backup version and that the recovery had been successful. I then went on using the system in the way I normally use not noticing anything except for the fact that one file with icons for one of my text editors had got mysteriously lost. I therefore thought I'd better use the System Recovery to the day before to make sure I got rid of any invisible damages to the registry that might one day surface and cause a problem. After the post-recovery startup, I was working on the computer for some time and did not notice any trouble, though I am not sure whether it wasn't due to the fact that I did not hover over the upper application title panel (i.e. the upper, by default blue, boundary of active window). I then tried to open the Firefox and it crashed immediately with Windows giving an exception with following error message: "Application firefox.exe, version 1.8.20071.12718, module gdi32.dll, version 5.1.2600.3159, error address 0x000359ba", although I had used it (and upgraded it to the latest version, in fact) without any problems that day before using the System Recovery. From that moment onwards, I started noticing a similar problem with almost every other application. They will run well until I hover the mouse over the upper application title panel, which then causes an exception followed by crash, with the error message being exactly the same except for the name and version of the application, i.e. gdi32.dll/0x000359ba. Also, when trying to print something, the application from which I send the printing request crashes again with the same error message (gdi32.dll/0x000359ba). I only get a bit different message in Miranda IM after hovering over the upper application title panel: "Access violation at address 77F459BA in module 'GDI32.dll'. Read of address 475D7672." Moreover, it does not crash afterwards. To make reasonably sure that the hardware is not the culprit, I ran Memtest86 for 6 hours without a problem and also checked the hard drive with WD Diagnostics. I have also tried the System Recovery to times more, but that has not worked. To rule out corrupted registry, I also have loaded a complete regsitry backup made by ERUNT, but I have not got any resolution again. I have also googled for problems with this specific library but found no problem with it which would be at least partially similar to my case. I now keep looking for general WXP dll problems, but still haven't found the solution. As I have only about 6 hours a week to spend on computer with a lot of work to be done during them, I really do not have the time for complete reinstallation and am therefore in a rather desperate situation. I would be extremely grateful for any relevant advice. As of now, I am going to replace the gdi32.dll in my system32 directory with the same version copied from a friend's system, but I am not really sure of the outcome. Finally, please excuse some of the inaccurate Windows terms, which is caused by the fact that I have a Czech version of the system.