Why yes, exactly that disk. Hold down C during start up; this will force the mac to boot to the disk. If it's successful I think you'll want to do a reinstall.
Since it's a bit to late to backup, you're going to want to go to "advanced" on the screen where you select your disk, and select "Archive and Install."
There are those who would say to be sure you uncheck "Keep settings and applications" (likely not the exact phrasing as this is all from memory
). I usually do because chances are, the root of my issues is in the systems folder and not in my account's library folder.
Click continue and finish the reinstall, then restart.
If you follow these steps and the computer does not start up after reinstall or doesn't start up from the disk, let us know and we at MacForums will be happy to help.