Day after I got it - stalling at blue screen

Hi All,
Just got a newly refurbished 20" iMac yesterday. Worked perfectly fine last night.
This morning, I went to turn it on and left it there for a while. Then I came back and it was asleep, and b/c I didn't have much time and didn't remember how to get it out of sleep mode, I simply shut it down.
When I restarted it, it went through the OSX boot up, but then stalled at the blue screen before the login as user comes up. The mouse was appearing and working fine, it's just the screen sat there as blue. I tried restarting again - same thing. Then I tried restarting holding the option key and clicking the hard drive icon when it came up, but still, same thing.
I'm transferring from PCs and was looking forward to a trouble free mac experience, but this is becoming pretty frustrating so far.

Hello, and welcome to the iMac Intel Apple Discussions.
Whenever you force quit a Mac, as you did, you run the risk of damaging the disk directory. If you want a trouble-free experience with a Mac you need to at least allow yourself the time to understand the basics, and not blame the computer for something which you did. The old computer adage even applies to Macs, "Garbage in = garbage out."
If you can boot to the Install DVD, after selecting your language, when the installer appears go to Disk Utility under the Utilities menu. In Disk Utility select your HD, the top listing in the left hand side, and in the First Aid pane press Repair Disk. If it lists any repairs run it until no more repairs are reported. If no repairs are reported, you may need to reinstall the Mac OS. If you have not really installed anything on your Mac which you mind losing, I suggest a complete erase of the HD, writing zeros, and a new custom install. With a custom install you can reclaim about 5 to 6 Gbs if you install only the language resources and printer drivers you need for your Mac. The Custom button will appear at the bottom of the installer as you progress through the install screens. After you press it the installer will show you what is being installed. Press the triangles to show more details. Remove the check mark from printer brands and languages you do not need on your Mac.
If you have installed a lot of personal items on the Mac; photos, music, etc., then you can do an Archive and install, which will install a fresh Macs OS X but preserve all your personal files and settings.
Everyone is friendly and helpful here in the user to user forums, but first impressions set the tone for your experience. You were very dismissive of a brody in his attempt to assist you, "I don't think that's the problem...Anyone else..." He is a very experienced and respected contributor in the Apple Discussions. If folks feel that is going to be your approach to assistance, they will read your problem, see how you treat people and move on without offering any help.

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