I was given a 2010 17" MacBook Pro. I want to reset it to new and then migrate only SOME of my data from my older Mac Book Pro to the newer one. How?

Question

A friend gave me a 17" MacBook Pro used for only one project. (Lucky me) I want to reset/register the laptop as new and need to know how to do that.
THEN...
I need to migrate data from my older Macbook Pro to the newer one. I don't want to migrate all of the data. I have been moving data from one computer to another for 15 years and want to move only what is current and what I now need (Good-bye Quark files)--can I do that? How? Also, the older laptop is running Lion. The "new" one is running Leopard. Is that an issue? Do I need to upgrade the newer laptop to Lion first?
Thanks.

Answer 1

Install or Reinstall Lion from Scratch
If possible backup your files to an external drive or second internal drive.
Boot to the Recovery HD:
Restart the computer and after the chime press and hold down the COMMAND and R keys until the menu screen appears. Alternatively, restart the computer and after the chime press and hold down the OPTION key until the boot manager screen appears. Select the Recovery HD and click on the downward pointing arrow button.
Erase the hard drive:
Select Disk Utility from the main menu and click on the Continue button.
After DU loads select your hard drive (this is the entry with the mfgr.'s ID and size) from the left side list. Note the SMART status of the drive in DU's status area.  If it does not say "Verified" then the drive is failing or has failed and will need replacing.  SMART info will not be reported  on external drives. Otherwise, click on the Erase tab in the DU main window.
Set the format type to Mac OS Extended (Journaled.) Click on the Erase button and wait until the process has completed.
Quit DU and return to the main menu.
Reinstall Lion: Select Reinstall Lion and click on the Install button.
Note: You can also re-download the Lion installer by opening the App Store application. Hold down the OPTION key and click on the Purchases icon in the toolbar. You should now see an active Install button to the right of your Lion purchase entry. There are situations in which this will not work. For example, if you are already booted into the Lion you originally purchased with your Apple ID or if an instance of the Lion installer is located anywhere on your computer.
Unfortunately, Setup Assistant or Migration Assistant are set up to migrate your entire Home folder, third-party applcations and support files, and system preferences. If you use the Setup Assistant that opens the first time you boot Lion after installing, then you should migrate your Home folder, etc. This is the easiest way to do it.
Once migration is finished you can delete what you don't want.