Odd moment with old MBP startup question

[gastarbeider]

Howdy.

I have a late 2006 MBP (2.33 ghz intel core 2 duo) that I'm trying to nurse along until the next MBP update.

It might not happen, but one can always dream.

Recently I've noticed a strange moment when starting up, which makes me wonder how tenable my dream may be.

This pops up o the screen, just before my desktop appears.

any ideas as to what may be causing the checker board effect?

if it helps, my motherboard died over the summer of 2011, and i had it replaced.

 

[gastarbeider]

anyone?

 

[Ledgem]

Most likely impending graphics card failure. The timing would seem unusual considering that this board isn't the original board that came with the computer, but my guess is that it's a refurbished board to begin with. I noted some dust in the ports when Apple replaced the board on my early 2008 MBP last year anyhow, and figured it couldn't have been a brand new board in part due to that.