Crashes with Inspiron E1405

Hi there,

I've had my Dell Inspiron E1405 since 2006 and since I have had it, although it has gotten much worse over the years, it crashes randomly.  The computer doesn't just freeze, it goes nuts.

The problem occurs completely randomly, but when it happens the screen gets a bunch of horizontal lines across it and the speakers, or headphones if they are plugged in (which is EXTREMELY painful), emit a loud, repetitive cracking sound like automatic gunfire.  The only way to get the noise to stop and regain control of my computer is to hold the power button to turn it off and start it up again.  This happens as much as several times a day and makes doing work on my laptop terrifying.

I hope someone can help tell me what's wrong with this thing.  If its a hardware issue just tell me what part to buy and I'll replace it.  Friends who are a little more tech-savy than me have mentioned that it is most likely a problem with my video/graphics card, but I have heard that this is integrated into my motherboard so replacing it may not be possible.  Does anyone know what is wrong with my laptop?  Is there a way to fix this issue?

I appreciate any help I can get.  Thanks.

Aaron