Cannot boot either from install disk or hard drive

I have done a number of searches, and I have not found a problem precisely like the one I am encountering.
Earlier today, my MacBook (running Leopard 10.5.3) failed to wake properly from sleep. After I attempted to reboot the machine using the power button, I encountered a black box with the following message: "You need to restart your computer. Hold down the Power button for several seconds or press the Restart button."
I have tried all of the usual fixes (e.g., zapping PRAM, removing all power sources, holding down the shift key), and nothing has worked. What puzzles me most of all is that, although the DVD drive is clearly working, I am unable to boot from the install disk.
I would add that, when I old down the option (Alt) key while booting, I am able to see all three of the available options for rebooting. This seems to suggest that the computer is still able to detect my hard drive as well as my DVD drive. Why, then, does nothing allow me to get past the black box with its cryptic (and rather unhelpful) message?
Out of desperation, I unsuccessfully tried to use the option of rebooting from my boot camp partition. I then received a message that might provide a clue. "Windows could not start because the following file is missing or corrupt: system 32\hal.dll" Does this suggest anything to anyone?
If I continue to be unable to get past the black screen over the course of the weekend, I will take my computer in for service on Monday. But it would be nice to come up with some sort of solution before then.

Let me add a quick update to my original posting.
I finally managed to run Apple's hardware tests on my machine. According to the tests, there is absolutely nothing wrong with my hardware. But the fact remains that I still cannot manage to boot into OSX--even using my original installation disk.
As I mentioned in my original post, I am able to get part way into the version of Windows XP that is installed on my boot camp partition. However, I am a little nervous about pursuing the possibility of repairing my XP installation. I am afraid that, by doing this, I may inadvertently damage my OSX partition.
Any and all advice would be greatly appreciated. In particular, I would like to know whether there is perhaps some secret way of forcing a MacBook to boot from the installation disk. Is there anything that one can do when holding down the "C" key does not work?

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