T61 kaleidoscopic display

Hello,
My T61 laptop recently went off the rails.  The screen suddenly fractured and went all multicolored.  Green, red, blue, tabs split in half and repeated, no visual response to mouse movement or button presses.  I shut it down and turned in back on without waiting long.  It got to a "Windows did not shut down properly" screen and quickly fractured again, displaying lines and blocks everywhere.   I shut it down and waited a while before turning it on.  It then operated smoothly for 20-30 minutes, going through Rescue and Recovery and starting Windows normally and letting me use my programs without issue.  It then fractured the screen and went color wild again.  Have not attempted to use it since.
It might be my imagination but I don't think I heard the whirring sound of the fan working.  Also I think the whir I used to hear was a sign the fan was going bad.  Anyway, please advise me: do you think my machine was freaking out due to overheating?  Or?
Can I fix it with a new fan or do I need a new motherboard or what?
I apologize for not having the computer language skills to better convey what's happening.  Product ID sticker on the back says 8891CTO, if that helps.  I have NOT recently installed a new OS or new drivers or anything - no significant changes to the machine at all.
Solved!
Go to Solution.

8891 machines have an NVidia graphics processor. It sounds like yours just died. Unfortunately, you need a motherboard.

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