HELP... after 10.4.11 update I can't boot past the blue screen

HELP... after 10.4.11 update I can't boot past the blue screen, and it is pretty frustrating, to say the least. Here's what happened last night:
I installed elgato's eyetv 250, and at the end it asked to update the software. I did so, and when I tried to run it again it said I had to be running 10.4.11. I quickly went over and downloaded the 10.4.11 combo updater to my desktop and proceeded to repair permissions on my disk so I could run the updater.
I repaired permissions and started the updater. It got halfway through updating and said something like it could not finish and stopped. No reason why - it just stopped. I tried it again, and it did the same thing after going about 25 to 30 percent through the updating process. I thought that was very odd, so I checked, and I was running 10.4.9.
I thought I needed to get the 10.4.10 update, so I downloaded the combo updater several times. It would not run, giving me some error message that it would not even open, so I thought I needed to restart my computer to get it to run. I did so.
That's when my computer would not boot. It gets through the initial white screen with the logo in the middle and the revolving circle, and while it stays there for a long time the fans run increasingly faster. They tame down, and then the blue screen with "Mac OS" on it and the blue progress bar comes up. There is no blue progress bar, though... that's where it stops and will not go any further.
Can ANYBODY help me get this thing booted back up? It was so late last night that before I started I didn't back the Mac up, and of course I have a project on there that I need to finish Saturday afternoon for a company.
ANY HELP WILL BE SO GLADLY APPRECIATED. If you can give me step by step instructions on what to do, you will surely be blessed! Thanks for any help,
Barry
Jeremiah 29:11

Hi mrstang, and a warm welcome to the forums!
It sounds like Disk Directory problems.
Could be many things, we should start with this...
"Try Disk Utility
1. Insert the Mac OS X Install disc that came with your computer, then restart the computer while holding the C key.
2. When your computer finishes starting up from the disc, choose Disk Utility from the Installer menu. (In Mac OS X 10.4 or later, you must select your language first.)
Important: Do not click Continue in the first screen of the Installer. If you do, you must restart from the disc again to access Disk Utility.
3. Click the First Aid tab.
4. Click the disclosure triangle to the left of the hard drive icon to display the names of your hard disk volumes and partitions.
5. Select your Mac OS X volume.
6. Click Repair. Disk Utility checks and repairs the disk."
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=106214
Then Safe Boot , (holding Shift key down at bootup), run Disk Utility in Applications>Utilities, then highlight your drive, click on Repair Permissions, reboot when it finishes.
The usual reason why updates fail or mess things up, or things don't load/run, is if Permissions are not fixed before & after every update, with a reboot... you may get a partial update when the installer finds it doesn't have Permissions to change one obscure little part of the OS, leaving you with a mix of OS versions.
Some people get away without Repairing Permissions for years, some for only days.
If Permissions are wrong before applying an update, you could get mixed OS versions, if Directory is the slightest messed up, who knows!
If many Permission are repaired, or any Directory errors are found, you may need to re-apply some the latest/biggest updates again, or even do an A&I if you have enough free disk space.
The combo update for PowerPC-based Macs...
http://www.apple.com/support/downloads/macosx10411comboupdateppc.html
The combo update for Intel-based Macs...
http://www.apple.com/support/downloads/macosx10411comboupdateintel.html
Repair Permissions before & after re-install, then reboot again each time.
If all the above do not resolve the problem, then it's time for an Archive & Install, which gives you a new/old OS, but can preserve all your files, pics, music, settings, etc., as long as you have plenty of free disk space...
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=107120
Be sure to use Preserve Users & Settings.

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