I own a Compaq Presario 1277 laptop, it has a problem with lines and artifacts due to the on board video. Unfortunetly you have to replace the motherboard to fix this problem. By the way if you do take the machine apart, do a search for a parts/troubleshooting manual on compaq's website so you don't break any parts when disassembling the thing. I have tons of info on this laptop and running Linux so if you need a hand bug me or something..

good luck