Advice for troubleshooting an emac that will not boot

My mom's emac will not boot, and gets stuck with a gray screen and apple logo along with the circling timer. We have tried the following:
(OSX.2x)
turning off and unplugging computer.
removed all peripherals
reboot in safe mode
reboot from installation disc
nothing works. The computer gets stuck in the boot process. We have run the hardware repair disc, there are no problems with the hardware.
I would like to make as many attempts to troubleshoot problem at home before spending a lot of money by taking it to a repair shop. I would also like some information before I go in order to be prepared to discuss the problem. I do not want to get 'taken' for repairs that may be unnecessary.
Any guidance, suggestions, advice would be very helpful and greatly appreciated.
Thanks!
emac Mac OS X (10.2.x)
Mac OS X (10.2.x)

It sounds as if you've already figured the standard trobleshooting / startup methods. There is one additional thing that can block an eMac from starting: if the PRAM battery is failing, that can prevent the Mac from starting up. My understanding is that a failed battery would block the eMac from starting up to the Apple Hardware Test (AHT) Disk also, through. Perhaps the battery is low enough to prevent a normal start but still has enough in it to let AHT come up? If you have an electronics multimeter, you can test the battery while it's under load (i.e., still in the eMac's PRAM battery holder) and see if it's within 0.1v of the nominal 3.6v specification. If the battery is low, replacing it is straightforward (see eMac - Do-It-Yourself). The 1/2 AA 3.6v lithium battery is available online and is usually in stock at places like Radio Shack, where it costs about US$11 or so (the battery is cheaper online, but after adding shipping and handling, the brick-and-motar store is about the same, plus quicker).

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