Macbook problem???????????

I have a macbook (not the pro, just a regular macbook) that I got in 2007. My mom was on a website and she wanted to close Safari for some reason so she tried to close it, but that "spinning wheel of misfortune" (as I like to call it) thing popped up as her cursor and she had to wait a while, so she just turned off the computer. My dad tried turning it on this morning, it turns on, but the screen is just white (like before the apple pops up when you turn it on normally) and you can hear these faint clicking noises. I've tried customer support on apple.com, but couldn't find anything. Do you think it's a virus? Please help!!