MacBook Pro can't get into log-in password screen

I'm not very familiar with technical terms/words.....but last nite I have to Force Quit my MacBook Pro as it cannot shut down.

This morning, when I switched it on, it kept processing but can't go into my password log in page.

Can someone tell me what happened?

Thank you very much.

When you force quit it may have corrupted the hard drive. Do you have your original install - recovery DVD disk? If you're running Lion, you can get into recovery by rebooting and pressing Command + R. Run Disk Utility from either the DVD or from Lion recovery. Verify and repair the hard drive.

I'm using Leopard. Can I still follow the process as per your recommendation?

maktaumehmeh said:

I'm using Leopard. Can I still follow the process as per your recommendation?

Click to expand...

Yes, boot with the Leopard DVD, skip the install and instead go to the top menu "Utilities" and select "Disk Utility". Highlight the hard drive on the left side of the screen, then select the First Aid tab on the right side and do a Verify and Repair of the hard drive. Let's see what it says.

IIRC, you will be asked to choose a language before you can get to this point, so don't freak out and just choose English. You can then proceed to the menu bar and do what chscag suggests.