IMac refuses to boot properly - hardware problem?

Hi all, I'm having some problems with my iMac (purchased last October) and was hoping some kind soul could shed some light.
Here's where I'm at now.
- The iMac doesn't boot. When I press the power button, it chimes, but then nothing happens and I just see the white/grey screen.
- I have disconnected all 3rd party peripherals, and only have original keyboard and mouse attached.
- No matter what keyboard combo I try, nothing happens either. I managed to eject the disc once by pressing the mouse button, but no other key combos work.
- I must have rebooted about 30 times now, and only twice did something happen:
1. Once it sat on the white screen for a bit, and then displayed a grey folder with a questionmark in it, but then nothing else happened.
1. Once I did get it to boot from the CD, and I got to the installation screen. At this stage I tried a couple of different things. First I tried Disk Utility, and the HD is indeed listed in the sidebar (although it's listed as 'disk0s2' rather than 'Macintosh HD'. When I picked the First Aid tab, both Repaid Disk Permissions and Verify Disk Permissions are greyed out (i.e. I can't press them). When I went to press Repair, I got the following error message.
+Verify and Repair disk 'disk0s2'+
+Checking HFS Plus Volume+
+Invalid node structure+
+Invalid record count+
+Catalog file entry not found for extent+
+Volume check failed+
+Error: The underlying task reported failure on exit+
+1 HFS volume checked+
+1 volume could not be repaired because of an error+
So, I could do nothing in Disk Utility. I then thought "well, I'll just surrender then and reinstall OS X", but when I went back to the Install screen and proceeded, and it asked me where to install the OS, there was nothing to choose from. Usually 'Macintosh HD' is listed along with any other disks. Not this time. So, I shut down the computer again, and now I can't back to the screen (i.e. it refuses to boot from the CD again and instead just spits out the disc).
So then I phoned Apple. But because I don't have their service plan (and the free one only lasts 90 days after purchase), he couldn't help much. He did say though that if it spits out the disc, it could be hardware problem, and my warranty would cover it.
So, should I just give up, realise my HD is screwed and my data is gone, and hand it in for service? Or can anyone here shed some more light on my situation?
Even a "yes, you're screwed, hand it in" would suffice, if that's indeed where I am.
Thanks,
Hanna
Edited for spelling by Nunis

Thank you, dwb. I did just manage to boot from the DVD again, but again I'm seeing the same problems.
Screencaps:
http://nunis.net/misc/screencaps/boot.jpg
http://nunis.net/misc/screencaps/boot2.jpg
And I have been backing up, but I just got back from vacation, so my last backup is 2 weeks old and the things I was worried about saving was the work I did on my vacation photos and video. Also, you'd be kicking a girl when she's down, which would be even worse.
I think I'll definitely hand it in now, and ask the tech to rescue whatever data he can. I don't care if it costs me a bit, if it means rescuing my vacation photos.
Thanks again, you've been most helpful.

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