OS X 10.4.5 starts up to blue screen...and nothing more

I was in process of copying files from a 3rd Gen iPod when the iPod battery died--stalling the file copy. I attempted a force-quit on the Finder, which began causing issues. After attempting to reboot using the Apple menu, I rebooted by holding down the power button and restarting and now OS X 10.4.5 starts up to a blue screen with the pointer in the top left corner.
Any help would be great--this is just day 2 of the new computer.
Mac Book Pro   Mac OS X (10.4.5)  

Hi, j. Welcome to the Discussions.
A blue screen at startup generally indicates a damaged or incompatible Startup or Login Item. However, the hard restart you describe may have caused other issues.
1. I suggest you begin troubleshooting using the process specified in my "Resolving Disk, Permission, and Cache Corruption" FAQ. Perform the steps therein in the order specified.
2. If that does not resolve the issue, see my "Troubleshooting Startup and Login Items" FAQ for steps that might help you with this problem.
3. If Finder continues to be problematic after the above, See my "Finder Issues? How to delete its preferences" FAQ.
Good luck!
Dr. Smoke
Author: Troubleshooting Mac® OS X
Note: The information provided in the link(s) above is freely available. However, because I own The X Lab™, a commercial Web site to which some of these links point, the Apple Discussions Terms of Use require I include the following disclosure statement with this post:
I may receive some form of compensation, financial or otherwise, from my recommendation or link.

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