MacBook Pro (10.4.5) Will Not Boot.

It is my sister's MBP, but I am the tech savvy brother (says her) and I should be able to fix it. Well, I've tried my trade and failed.
When I started, her MBP would get stuck on the progress indicator (spinning circle) and never move past that.
The first thing I did was Archive and Install, which worked but yielded an incredibly slow system. I told her it was because her HD was too full. We deleted some things and managed to free up 8 GBs of space, but that did not help. I installed some software updates and rebooted the laptop. Unfortunately, it got stuck on the progress indicator again and never moved past it. I was devastated.
I did another archive and install, but was never asked to insert the second install disc. The hard drive is completely full now.
I told her I could format, but she apparently has pictures of her newborn on there that she refuses to let me delete.
So, I brainstormed.
I have a laptop, a PC, and a 8GB flash drive. I put Ubuntu on the flash drive, booted it on the laptop, and connected my laptop to her Mac via Firewire. I could access her HD, but could not get into the photos folder. It said I lacked permissions.
I've tried resetting the NVRAM, repairing disc permissions, repairing disc.
I ran the hardware test and was only presented with an already known fan error. (Her left fan and her battery do not work.)
Her computer now gets passed the progress indicator, goes to a solid blue screen and changes brightness every couple seconds.
I read that I should remove and then reinsert the RAM, but I do not have a screwdriver small enough to open the case.
I was told to connect another MacBook Pro with her Mac to access the files, but I am afraid I will get the same 'permissions error'.
The Apple repair store tried to get my sister to pay a $300 premium for the repairs, saying that the repairs could cost as much as $1,200.
Please ask any questions necessary.
Until 3 days ago I had never touched a Mac.
I have learned a lot in the past couple days, but not enough apparently.
Any help is extremely appreciated.
Also, this might be in the wrong forum. If so, I apologize. Please move it.
- Carson

Unfortunately, I do not have access to another Mac.
I just tried to run that scenario using my Ubuntu flash drive, but there is no way to change permissions.
I would be more interested in getting the MBP to actually work, but I would settle for getting the information of it it.
I have a friend with a Mac, and I will try that solution if nothing else comes up.

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