How-To: Install Bundled Apps to another MacBook Pro using Target Disk Mode

Question

Recently, I replaced the dead hard drive on my wife's computer. All the data was previously backed-up so all I needed to do was reinstall the original OS. Oops! Those disks disappeared over two years ago...perfect, right? No poblem, I already had the boxed install DVD for Snow Leopard and installed the core OS. But what about those bundled applications? Aha! That is the marketing coup Apple doesn't really talk much about. You see, you get the entire suite of Apple branded apps with the original install disks but not with a boxed OS install disk. It's just something that you have to find out for yourself...the hard way.
My requirement: restore all the iPhoto data to the reimaged machine running Snow Leopard. But that data has no application that can read it. Solution - Reinstall iPhoto from another source.
So I developed this workaround I hope the rest of you find amusingly simple, wildly helpful
Here's how I restored iPhoto on my wife's computer:
1)  Get two Laptops side by side. In our case we both have macbook pro 2008 computers (Wife's and Mine)
2)  Power both down and direct connect a firewire 400 cable (or 800 if you have it) between the two
3)  Start the Wife's laptop in Target Disk Mode: Press "T" immediately after engagin the power button, hold it down until you see the "fanned" firewire symbol floating across a grey screen - it's quite large, about the size of your hand making a "stop" gesture
4)  No start the Mine laptop by pressing the "option" key (two keys to the left of the space bar)
5)  You will presented with a pair of hard disks to boot from, choose the Wife's laptop hard drive
5a) you'll notice now that the Mine laptop is booting the OS system files of the Wife's laptop (Her desktop, her preferences, etc...)
6)  On the Mine laptop, insert the original Mac OS Install Disk (#1) that came with the Mine laptop (usually any OEM install disk will work, though)
7)  Double-click on the DVD icon on the desktop when it mounts and look for a shortcut that reads, "Install Bundled Applications Only"...launch it
8)  Now choose install bundled applications but make sure to press the "Customize" button in order to specifically choose which OEM software you want. In our case, just iPhoto
9)  Follow the installer prompts all the through to completion and exit (you will be prompted to insert disk #2 along the way).
10)  Remove the install disks, power down
11)  Power down the Wife's laptop too
12)  Disconnect the Firewire cables from both laptops
13)  Power up the Wife's laptop normally
14)  Launch the FInder and drill down to Applications. Look for iPhoto and launch it
15)  iPhoto will either pickup the "iPhoto Library" that was previously restored after reimaging with Snow Leopard or you may be prompted to manually associate a library with iPhoto.
16)  Once complete, you'll se all the restored pictures and data from when before the original hard drive crashed. Wife will be pleased and you'll look like a Genius
This is a really handy trick for troubleshooting a lot of install and restore related issues.
Hopefully you'll find other uses for it too.
Good Luck,
TheHighSierras

Answer 1

I think the problem is that you can't install an older OS X version onto a system running a newer OS X version. So I would try the following:
     1. have an external disk or create another partition on an internal drive to use for the Mountain Lion install (you might have to shrink an existing partition to make room for another)
     2. Create an external bootable USB thumb drive with the Mountain Lion OS on it (do a search on the web for this - for example see http://www.macworld.com/article/1167857/how_to_make_a_bootable_mountain_lion_ins tall_drive.html
     3. Reboot Yosemite and then boot from the USB thumb drive by holding down the option key
     4. run the mountain lion installer and install on the new disk/partition you created in step 1 - it will also create another recovery partition from this same part of the disk
Now your Mac system will have both a Mountain Lion install as well as the Yosemite install. You won't be able to use Migration Assistant to move things from Yosemite to Mountain Lion because it will see that you're "going backwards" and won't allow you to.
Have a good backup of everything before starting in case there are problems.
Good luck...