having big issues-need some help

i own a 3 year old Macbook, i think it's running OS 10 something or maybe OS9. i recently had to "hard" shut down (turned it off via the power button instead of doing it properly). now upon reboot, after i enter my password, it acts like it it about to reboot, BUT after approx 2-3 seconds it brings me right back to the password login prompt. i have done this about 30 times to no availi am the only one who uses it, it is NOT a password or login ID issue. I'm currently deployed to Afghanistan so taking it to a pro is kinda out of the question. hope somebody can help.

Cross Post
http://mac-help.com/showthread.php?t=11869