MBP white screen w/ swirl...will not boot

hello all,
huge problem i'm having. i am using a 2yo MBP with OSX 10.4.11. i am not sure what processor it has but it's definitely an Intel and i have never upgraded the RAM.
the laptop is company owned however, the company stopped supporting Mac around the time i started the job and when i've had trouble with it in the past, IT didn't want to bother with it at all. so getting discs to re-install software might be a HUGE problem.
my problem: last night i did an update to Java, Quicktime, iTunes and the Security update. everything went well but it said there was a problem doing the Security update and that something was placed in the trash. in any event i restarted the computer and when it restarted all i got was the white screen w/ Apple logo and the loading circle status bar (swirl thing). i let it sit for a good 40min and nothing happened.
this morning i took my fiance's install DVD (as she owns a same year 17" MBP using 10.4) and booted the computer from that. i ran Repair Disc on the drive and it passed. there were no errors or repairs to be made.
so now, it's sitting there with the same white screen, etc, not booting/loading at all. i haven't the slightest idea as to what to do. now, if i had the Adobe CS suite discs, i'd just do a clean install but i do not have those available and as stated above, it would be a problem trying to get them.
will an Archive & Install help do the trick? any suggestions will be helpful and appreciated.
thanx and sorry this is so long, just wanted to be as detailed as possible.

well... what i meant was: i'd totally wipe the computer, re-install OSX and then re-install the Adobe Suite, Quark, MS Office, etc etc. but i don't have any of the software discs here. i just have the two discs that were provided with my fiance's MBP. i didn't realize though the licensing violation and that could be an issue given it's a company computer. all of the software discs are in Cali, i'm in NJ and my IT could care less about the laptop even though i do use it. for instance, my power cord sparked and burnt out and they were resistant on getting me a replacement until my manager forced them too. they don't take kindly to Macs in my office, haha.
as an update though... i tried starting in safemode, nothing. i tried starting is single-user mode, couldn't type anything out. i'm about to try verbose mode and see if i can do /sbin/fsck -fy.
i appreciate your comments, might you have any other suggestions as to what i can do?

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If you've booted from an external storage device, make sure that your internal boot volume is selected in the Startup Disk pane of System Preferences.
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Call U.S. iPod and Mac technical support: 1-800-APL-CARE (1-800-275-2273)
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I like your work ! Good luck !
Slim
Message was edited by: slimpikkunz

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