Mac will not boot from hard drive or install disc

Hello All
In dire need of advise...my intel Mac will not boot, even tried booting to the Snow Leopard install disc and all I'm getting is the white screen, apple logo and the wheel.
Just before this happened there was a buzzing sound like the fan was about to fail but that is only a guess on my part. Is there a keyboard shortcut to boot to a terminal window or similar to force the computer to boot from the install disc.
Thanks in advance for any help offered.
Warren

Hi Warren
Try holding the Option key and see if it will boot into Startup Manager, where you should be able to choose from a good Drive or your install Disk.
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1533
or the D key and run the Apple Hardware Test.
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1509
Also note: key commands may require a USB Keyboard if your using a wireless and it has become unpaired.
Dennis

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