Help: iMac won't boot past Grey logo screen with spinning lines

My fiance's iMac (intel based) running snow leopard (upgraded from Leopard a couple months ago) will not boot past the logo and spinning lines. This started after at attempting to restart after installing updates to Safari and iTunes.
When booting in verbose mode I get these lines:
Launchctl: Dubious permissions on file (skipping): /Library/LaunchDaemons
Launchctl: Dubious permissions on file (skipping): /System/Library/LaunchDaemons
Launchctl: Dubious permissions on file (skipping): /etc/mach_inid.d
AppleYukon2: Marvel Yukon Gigabit Adapter 88E8055 Singleport Copper SA
AppleYukon2: RxRingSize <= 1024, TxRingSize 256. RXMAXLE 1024, TXMAXLE 768, STMAXLE 3328
Then it just stops and does nothing.
I've unplugged everything except the apple keyboard and mouse. Ethernet is not connected.
She doesn't seem to have the original disc that came with the computer, but I do have the Snow Leopard upgrade disc.
What do I do? It won't boot in Safe Mode either, freezes at the same spot.
I'm not a particularly savvy Mac user as I recently embraced them when we moved in together.
Any help would be greatly appreciated

Repairing permission is not the first answer. Should try to run fsck and reset the PRAM
Start up your computer in single-user mode to reach the command line.
Note: If necessary, perform a forced restart as described in the Emergency Troubleshooting Handbook that came with your computer. On desktop computers, you can do this by pressing the reset/interrupt button (if there is one) or holding down the power button for several seconds. On portable computers, simultaneously press the Command-Control-power keys. If your portable computer doesn't restart with this method, you may need to reset the Power Manager.
At the command-line prompt type:
/sbin/fsck -fy
Press Return. fsck will go through five "phases" and then return information about your disk's use and fragmentation. Once it finishes, it'll display this message if no issue is found:
** The volume (name_of_volume) appears to be OKIf fsck found issues and has altered, repaired, or fixed anything, it will display this message:
***** FILE SYSTEM WAS MODIFIED *****
Important: If this message appears, repeat the fsck command you typed in step 2 until fsck tells you that your volume appears to be OK (first-pass repairs may uncover additional issues, so this is a normal thing to do).
When fsck reports that your volume is OK, typerebootat the prompt and then press Return.
Your computer should start up normally and allow you to log in.
Resetting PRAM and NVRAM
Shut down the computer.
Locate the following keys on the keyboard: Command, Option, P, and R. You will need to hold these keys down simultaneously in step 4.
Turn on the computer.
Press and hold the Command-Option-P-R keys. You must press this key combination before the gray screen appears.
Hold the keys down until the computer restarts and you hear the startup sound for the second time.
Release the keys.
Your computer's PRAM and the NVRAM are reset to the default values. The clock settings may be reset to a default date on some models.

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