Total crash - how to recover?

My iMac G5 (1st Gen) has totally crashed, and I would like advice on how to proceed.
Following an apparently mild printing disfunction (with everything else appearing to work), I did a restart. Computer wouldn't restart - white screen with grey Apple stays, and CPU works flat out (judging by the fans).
Inserted the Leopard system disk and used Disk Utility to repair the disk - reported "The volume iMac HD appears to be OK". Still wouldn't restart from HD.
Next tried to reload Leopard (Archive & Install). Five minutes into the install, I get a message "Install Failed. Mac OS X could not be installed on your computer. The installer could not install some files in "/Volumes/iMac HD". This attempt successfully archived the existing system 10.5.2, so that I couldn't even select this disk as the startup disk, but didn't succeed in replacing it. Tried to do a basic install, with the same message. This is the same Leopard disk I successfully used to upgrade from Panther a few months ago.
So now I have a computer without a usable OS on the HD (which wouldn't start up anyway), with the Leopard install disk stuck in the DVD drive (no way to get it out), and a whole slew of files without an up-to-date backup (don't say it - the mega external HD wasn't high on the budget list).
Before I take what appears to be the only remaining avenue - erase the entire HD and try to install OS X from scratch - I need to attempt to back up.
So the first question: Disk Utility offers me the possibility of making disk images (and I do have a modest 80GB USB external drive with 53 GB available). Do these disk images (if successful) represent a valid back-up that I can later recover all my data from? If so, which folder(s) should I try and turn into disk images? Obviously my Home folder and one or two other small ones I have created, but what about (for example) the Applications folder? Any others? Or should I go for the whole archived system (with some possible corruption), even though it has more stuff on it (61GB) than there is space for on the external drive?
Second question. Is there anything else less drastic than erasing the entire HD and starting over that I can do?
Finally, what is the likely cause of the problem in the first place? How can I proceed to try and reconstruct things so that the cause is eliminated, and so that it doesn't recur?
Help please.

Finally getting somewhere!!
I used one of Baby Boomer's suggestions for getting the stuck disk out of the DVD drive - using the firmware command "eject cd" - and that worked.
Then I was able to set up target disk mode the other way - using the dead iMac as the target, and my McBook as the host. I am now in the process of copying files from the dead iMac HD to the MacBook and hence on to the external USB drive. This is taking some time, but all seems well so far. Once this is complete I plan to completely erase the hard drive and re-install Leopard if it will.
Now is the time to revisit one of my original questions. Which files should I copy, given the nature of the fault I have? Obviously the Home folder and some other minor folders I created at the same level. If I leave it at that, am I likely to lose any other useful information, such as settings, bookmarks, preferences, printer drivers, etc., that were part of my life on the iMac? Or anything else?
What about the Applications folder? Re-installing all the applications is likely to be time consuming, but it's something I can do. The potential problem is that individual applications sometimes have bits installed all over the place; it could also be that the presumed disk corruption on the HD could have come from one of the apps. So there may be danger here . . . . .
Again, many thanks to both Miriam and Baby Boomer for pointing me in the right way.
I will post any findings on whether the HD is good or whatever. I will likely run TechTool deluxe before I erase the drive (now I know how to get the disk out again . . . . .) to see what it finds.
BTW, the mega hard drive is on order, and Time Machine will be deployed ASAP. I don't want this again!

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