Mac wont boot, stuck on white screen

Hi
After doing a software update and restart, my iMac wont boot. It will chime on, Grey screen w/ apple logo, then flashes to a white screen with a larger loading dial. It will keep doing this over and over, never actually getting to the login screen.
Have done safe mode start-up, tried repairing disks, and reinstalling OSX, which it won't let me do.
Not a computer expert so wondering if there are any more things I can try before taking it into get repaired?
Thanks ahead of time!

Try booting from the install disc. A quick search should pull up the precise method for your particular iMac. If this started happening after and update, then it is likely something corrupted in your system software that may be an easy fix.  Do you have an external backup drive you could boot from?

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