Mail and Preview crashing upon launch

Question

Okay, so it's just another day, and I'm launching Mail, just like I've done a million times before, but for some reason now all I get is just one bounce out of the icon in the dock, and then... nothing happens. Below, I've copied and pasted some gobbledigook from the Console log. I've discovered that Preview seems to be suffering from the same issue (the Console log reads similarly). The only other malfunction going on at the same time is my HP Scanjet 5400 scanner won't let itself be initialized.
dyld: Library not loaded: /System/Library/Frameworks/Quartz.framework/Versions/A/Quartz
Referenced from: /System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/Slideshow.framework/Versions/A/Slideshow
Reason: no suitable image found. Did find:
/System/Library/Frameworks/Quartz.framework/Versions/A/Quartz: unknown file type, first eight bytes: 0x48 0x65 0x72 0x61 0x27 0x73 0x0D 0x0A
/System/Library/Frameworks/Quartz.framework/Versions/A/Quartz: unknown file type, first eight bytes: 0x48 0x65 0x72 0x61 0x27 0x73 0x0D 0x0A
Feb 20 09:08:35 Andy-Leahys-Computer crashdump[344]: Mail crashed
Feb 20 09:08:35 Andy-Leahys-Computer crashdump[344]: crash report written to: /Users/andy/Library/Logs/CrashReporter/Mail.crash.log

Answer 1

Well, BD, I got it to reboot in safe mode. (You know, several times previously, I pulled the plug on this suggestion from you and others, as found in prior posts. This was because I failed to realize how much patience is required, while that gray Apple screen hangs there, its clock icon swirling, round, and round, and round, pointlessly, silently, ominously. This time, I dealt with the tension by leaving the house for a whole half hour, and I found a safe mode login screen upon my return. Yay!)
And, so, then I got the disk permissions repaired, using Disk Utility, as instructed.
While still in safe mode, I tried to launch Mail and Preview, but, sorry, same drill -- failure to launch. Rebooting to regular mode, and again trying to launch Mail and Preview -- still not working.
Here's how the crash log reads for the last Mail crash:
Host Name: Andy-Leahys-Computer
Date/Time: 2009-02-20 18:00:16.953 -0500
OS Version: 10.4.11 (Build 8S165)
Report Version: 4
Command: Mail
Path: /Applications/Mail.app/Contents/MacOS/Mail
Parent: WindowServer [63]
Version: 2.1.3 (753.1)
PID: 198
Thread: Unknown
Link (dyld) error:
Library not loaded: /System/Library/Frameworks/Quartz.framework/Versions/A/Quartz
Referenced from: /System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/Slideshow.framework/Versions/A/Slideshow
Reason: no suitable image found. Did find:
/System/Library/Frameworks/Quartz.framework/Versions/A/Quartz: unknown file type, first eight bytes: 0x48 0x65 0x72 0x61 0x27 0x73 0x0D 0x0A
/System/Library/Frameworks/Quartz.framework/Versions/A/Quartz: unknown file type, first eight bytes: 0x48 0x65 0x72 0x61 0x27 0x73 0x0D 0x0A
But, you know, it looks like Disk Utility might have left a little love letter on my hard disk, a previously unnoticed folder entitled "DamagedFiles." There are 11 aliases in there, one of them named "00589800 Quartz." Tell me, BD, is that the smoking gun?