Could a hardware problem cause a driver problem?
 

Odd situation. Computer has been running fine for months and months with no problem. Then the screen blanks while surfing and I get the message “Display driver nvlddmkm stopped responding and has successfully recovered.”
Several more instances. Tried a reboot and still persists. Tried running Mass Effect 2 (fullscreen) but the screen has severe artifacting and it locks up. Exit out and eventually get a crash.
Reboot in Safe Mode, download the latest WHQL NVidia driver. Uninstall old drivers, reboot, install new drivers. System stable for about 8 hours with no issues. Then the display blanks and the display driver message re-appears several times.
Shut it down. Open the case. Clean out dust, checked video cable to card connection; wiggle video card a bit and push in slightly to make sure it's seated (seemed okay), check other connections and everything looks good. Boot up. No problems. Run and play Mass Effect 2 for several hours. Been running now for over 12 hours without any errors.
Just seemed odd to fix an apparent driver problem without doing much. For a while I wondered if the recent Window updates affected something and was considering doing a rollback. But not complaining that it's working. Just scratching my head :biggrin:

All through this temps are normal.
i5-860/Gigabyte GA-P55A-UD3 (not overclocked)
MSI GTX 460 (not overclocked)
PSU HX650W
8 gigs memory
Win 7 Home Premium

get gpu-z and see what your temps are for your gpu first

GPU temps fine; hovers around 39° to 41°C with Mass Effect running. This was before and after. CPU is running cool before and after as well.

I sent my GTX570 in for RMA a couple months ago. I was having weird artifacts in game and also the driver crashes you were mentioning. Hell, my friend's Asus G53 laptop is currently having driver crash issues as well, which I believe is due to an overheating/damaged GPU.

quick answer,yes