Can someone help me figure out why this didn't work?

Question

I recently gave my iMac to my nieces....I erased and reinstalled the osx from my disks that came with the program.
They HAD one of the Mac Minis (an old one...g4 I think).
When we started up the iMac, I used the Firewire connection to transfer all the data during setup. we transferred everything.
So far, I have encountered the following problems:
1. When I opened iPhoto for the first time, it says "the library needs to be upgraded, etc etc...." so I choose to upgrade it, but the application QUITS.
2. When I try to open iTunes for the first time, it says the the iTunes library was created using an older version and cannot be read. The application quits.
3. The iMac is currently running OS Tiger, and when I try to put the Snow Leopard disk in, I couldn't even double click it to start it in order to install it?
I have not yet tried any other applications, but does anyone know how I can fix this? I have started all of my new macs using the firewire and I've never had a problem. I am assuming it's because it was such "old" versions of the programs that there is a problem?
The only thing that I can think of, was to possibly erase and reinstall again, NOT use firewire, set the computer up without the mini, and then somehow bring her photos over to the iMac separately ? Can this be done ? Will I be able to start the iMac and use the same user settings (names, passwords, etc).
Any help would be appreciated...this is the first time it didn't "just work" and I am lost !

Answer 1

christine major wrote:
The only thing that I can think of, was to possibly erase and reinstall again
that might not be a bad idea. and, yes, you should use the +firewire method+ to migrate @ least some of the data using setup assistant (which launches automatically once you have reinstalled OS X). you should be able to safely migrate everything but applications. i would re-install 3rd party applications manually and, since you migrated the user data earlier, you will find that you won't have to re-enter any license numbers or settings.
Pondini has a brilliant [walkthrough|http://web.me.com/pondini/AppleTips/Setup.html] for you. just deselect the applications @ the prompt.
when the migration process is done, i would immediately +repair permissions+, then restart. next, i would run software update from the  menu and install any updates offered. repair permissions again and restart.
@ this stage, you might want to try to upgrade to SL again.
as for the iTunes library, the simplest way would again be to connect the two Macs with a firewire cable, boot the source Mac in _*Target Disk Mode*_ (TDM), and copy the entire iTunes folder (not just the iTunes music folder) from <MacintoshHD>/users/<yourname>/music on the source (Mini) to <MacintoshHD>/users/<yourname>/music on the target (overwriting the iTunes folder in place there). since you updated all software components earlier, you shouldn't see that error message again.
the iPhoto library can be copied manually, too. again, using TDM, just drag and drop from source to target. see this user tip for locations: _*where important data is stored*_ (one correction to this link: iCal data is stored in ~/library/calendars).
JGG