Vista x64 - NVidia Graphics Card Unrecognized / Can't Load Drivers

So I've been through this enough times on my own system and had to Google some pretty esoteric answers that I thought I'd compile them in one place for anyone experiencing similar troubles...

The Problem: Every now and then, when I reboot my homebrew Vista 64-bit PC, my NVidia GTX 280 graphics card is unrecognized or not properly configured in Windows and my display is a nauseatingly low-resolution default of 640x480 or whatever the LCD is these days (LCD, not LCD). Rebooting it doesn't help in these cases. A classic case of, "WTF?!?SANDWICHEZ!!!"

The Solution(s): So far I've identified at least two fixes for this issue (presumably corresponding to two different underlying causes)...

1. When the graphics card is not recognized at all by Windows; that is, it's as if you unplugged the GPU (which, I'm assuming, you didn't), you need to do a full cold shutdown. Don't reboot! Shut it down, wait a few seconds, then bring it back up. This has worked for me in the past, and I would love to give credit to whatever forum post taught me that the reboot method impacted this problem, but unfortunately I don't know which post it was.
2. When the graphics card is recognized by Windows, check Device Manager. If the graphics card is highlighted with a caution icon, right click it and select "Properties" to view details about the error. If you see error code 37, congratulations, you're in luck: the top-rated answer (second down) on this Microsoft forum thread should solve your problem (it did for me). Super short version for those uninterested in clicking through and reading:
   Run a command prompt as Administrator, execute 'sfc /scannow', and reboot

Like I said... WTF called. It wants its SANDWICHEZ back.