Mac OS X won't install on external FW drive.

I recently purchased a new Intel iMac and I wanted to use the backup FireWire drive I had been using with my previous computer as an emergency startup disk incase something were to go wrong with the main HD. When I had used the FW drive in this capacity with my PowerBook, it worked just fine; I installed the OS (10.3.9) and was able to start up from the drive itself. However, after attaching the drive to the iMac and attempting to install a minimum system from the OS (10.4.4) install CD, it prevented me from selecting the FireWire drive with a message saying that this was not possible because the computer cannot start up from the external FW drive.
Why is this? Did something change between 10.3.9 and 10.4.4 to prevent this? Or is it something specific to the iMac itself?
20" iMac (Intel Core Duo)   Mac OS X (10.4.7)   2.0GHz, 1GB RAM, 250GB HD

Your external drive must be re-partitioned using the GUID partition scheme in order to install a bootable system on it. Be sure to use the Disk Utility that came with your Intel Mac. Select the hard drive from the left side list, click on the Partition tab in the DU main window. Select the partition numbers, then click on the Option button. Select the GUID partition scheme and click OK. Now click on the Partition button. After the volume mounts on the Desktop select it in the DU left side list, click on the Erase tab in the DU main window. Click on the Options button and select the option to Zero Data (one pass) and click OK. Now click on the Erase button. The format process could take from 30 minutes to several hours depending upon the size of the drive.

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