Cant start imac.  need a back door way to delete files

My imac locked up and now I can't get it to start up.  I believe the problem is a lack of free disc space on the hard drive but I don't know how to delete files?  Does anyone know a back door way to get in and delete files (empty trash)?

Boot from the Install Disc that came with the computer and then move data off to an external HD. If you are a typical user what is probably occupying a lot of your HD space is media such as iTunes library, iPhoto library and maybe iMovie library. I'd recommend moving those to an External HD. You can then easily access them after you are able to start normally on by following the directions in:
iMovie: How to move the Library to an EHD
iPhoto: How to move the Library to an EHD
iTunes: How to move the library to an EHD
Another possible solution is if you have a second Mac then boot the problem Mac in Target Disk Mode.

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