Sub-millisecond precision timing in C or C++

What techniques / methods exist for getting sub-millisecond precision timing data in C or C++, and what precision and accuracy do they provide?

I'm looking for methods that don't require additional hardware. The application involves waiting for approximately 50 microseconds +/- 1 microsecond while some external hardware collects data.

The OS is Windows, probably with Visual Studio 2010. If I can get drivers and SDKs for the hardware on Linux, I can go there using the latest GCC.