Snow Leopard Install Failed on iMac

I have a late 2006 iMac and cannot get SL to install. Every time I try something different I still get the "Could not install the necessary support files" error. Here is what I have tried:
- Clean install of SL on erased drive (including a 7-pass erase), fail.
- Installed Leopard, then upgrade, fail.
- installed Tiger even, then upgrade, fail.
- Thought I had bad DVD, returned it to Apple store, new disk but same problems.
- tried my friend's disk that worked on his MB, failed.
-Per AppleCare rep I reset my SMC and PRAM, tried clean install, failed.
- Hard Drive verification cheks out fone.
- Permissions, fine.
- Apple Care reps now tell me that they are out of ideas and that I should bring it to the store, but I have found that the store "geniuses" are usually NOT that.
The only thing I have not tried is booting from an external drive. Have other iMac users with these problems with SL had success this way? I mean I don't like the fact that anytime I want to reinstall my operating software that I will have to go through this circus.
Any other ideas to try? What has worked for others?
Help!

A 2006 24" iMac should be the same as mine and I installed SL on 2 of them with no problems at all. It's really very weird that you should be having this problem even after reformatting the drive.
Only thing I can think of that might be causing this is hardware problems, most likely the DVD drive is going bad. Or perhaps the motherboard, but I think you would have had many more problems than this if it was the motherboard. You might even have a hard drive going bad, which seems unlikely after doing a 7 pass erase. That will usually isolate any bad blocks.
As someone said you can do a remote install from another Mac if you have one or can get the use of one. You could also try hooking up an external DVD drive and see if that works. Make sure it's firewire, that works much better, but USB 2 should still work if you have no choice. If a remote or external DVD works then it is most likely the the internal DVD.
Kevin

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Will Mac OS X Snow Leopard INSTALL on a IMAc g3 slot lOADER?

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That's what we needed.
Officially your iMac--known as a "tray-loader" for its optical drive type--can go to Panther (10.3.X). Panther is quite better than Jaguar (10.2.8) that you now have. You probably need more RAM than 160MB for even Jaguar. I feel that 384MB is about min for that OS.
The big problem is that the early iMacs came with painfully small hard drives --4 to 6 G--and OSX need a lot of free space on the disk for efficient performance. It's hard to keep a Jaguar system under 2G with a few useful apps installed.
Bottom line: you'll spent money for a hard-to-find retail OS install disk, more RAM, and a bigger hard drive, and you'll still have a slow computer that will always struggle with modern web pages. If you want to upgrade and experiment as a hobby or learnign experience and you can afford the parts and time, by all means--go for it. However, if cost is an issue, throwing money at this unit is not cost-effective in terms of how much more yo ucan get from it.

Installing Mountain Lion from Snow Leopard, Install failed and HD write-locked

I recently downloaded the mountain lion installer from the App Store and I ran the installer. Stupid person as I am, I did not have any backups for my file and I naively assumed that an apple OS installer would be without flaws. Boy, was I wrong. I need every bytes of my data (or close to every bytes) but the installer failed.
Mid installation, the installer stopped and said that the installation failed and that I need to repair my disk. So I restarted the computer and I ran disk utilities (my start up disk was the OS installer and the installer allows me to run several programs, including terminal, disk utilities, and by the way, when I held option while starting up to see which start up disks I have, I only had the OS installer as the start up disk. Also, the installer allows me to run a program called "Startup Disk" when I click on the apple logo on the top left corner, but it doesn't allow me to startup my computer using Macintosh HD) and noticed that when I highlighted Macintosh HD, my "Repair Disk" button was grayed out. So first things first, I ran the "Verify Disk" button but after a minute or so, Disk Utilities said that verification failed and that Macintosh HD needs to be repaired. But the "repair disk" button is grayed out! So I went to the Mountain Lion installer again and ran it. Of course, it failed again so I restarted the computer.
So I tried to first back up all files in Macintosh HD to an external hard drive using Disk Utilities, and I used features such as "New Image" and "Restore" but they both ended up in "Input/Output error". I tried many methods with Disk Utilities but they resulted in errors.
After some research, I noticed that some people's computers worked after they reset their PRAM. So that's what I did. I held command+option+P+R when computer started up and I reset the PRAM. When the start up disk (which is the OS installer, not the normal operating system) loaded, I was greeted with choose languages option and then I was back in the Mountain Lion installer state. I again ran the installer again, hoping something would be different, but then it was different. But not in a good way. When I was told to choose where I would like to install Mountain Lion, I noticed that Macintosh HD was grayed out. Last time, I was at least able to run the installer but this time, Macintosh HD was grayed out. The installer said that my Macintosh HD was locked. After some research, I learned that apparently, the Mountain Lion installer write-locks Macintosh HD mid installation.
So now I am stuck and I am thinking of two things (plus some questions)
1. I am wondering if there is a way to unlock Macintosh HD. But even if I can unlock Macintosh HD, there is no guarantee that the installer will successfully install Mountain Lion, am I right?
a. so how can I un-write-lock Macintosh HD?
2. More realistically, I am thinking of borrowing someone else's macintosh computer and use it as the backup center. I have a firewire cable and a terrabyte external hard drive. So what I'm thinking is that I'll hook my computer in target mode to my friend's computer and I will also plug in my external hard drive to my friend's computer and then I can download and run Carbon Copy Cloner from my friend's computer to copy all data from my Macintosh HD to my external hard drive. And then I will erase my Macintosh HD, freshly install Mountain Lion onto it and then copy all data back from my external hard drive. But I am not sure about few things.
a. it looks like my Macintosh HD is write-locked. Can I still use Carbon Copy Cloner to copy all data from Macintosh HD (in target mode) to my external hard drive?
b. will my computer allow me to erase (or format) Macintosh HD?
c. will my erased/formatted Macintosh HD able to install + be installed Mountain Lion OS?
If you are here, then you have read my long long problem. Thank you very much and I would really really really appreciate your answers and opinions. Thanks

I'm not sure where you read that about the disk being "write-locked." That doesn't make much sense, given that the major task an installer like this must achieve is writing a whole bunch of files to the hard drive. I think your source was mistaken.
As to what happened, it sounds like your hard drive was badly corrupt to start with, or possibly was on the edge of failing and is now in the process of dying entirely. If you don't have backups of your data, that does not bode well for you, unfortunately. If you can manage to use target mode to copy your data, do that.
Once you're sure you've got all your data, you need to start up from your Snow Leopard install disk and repair the hard drive. (Since it sounds like the Mountain Lion installer didn't work, I wouldn't trust the recovery partition that Mountain Lion installs.) Or, even better, just erase the hard drive entirely and reinstall Snow Leopard. Then, once you're back up and running, with all your data back on the system and with Snow Leopard updated to the most recent version, try installing Mountain Lion again. If any of that fails again, the problem is likely to be a dying hard drive, and you'll need to replace it.

Just got snow leopard install failed now Mac will not boot up?

I got a iPad and snow leopard very excited to use them I try to install leopard and it fails so I turn on the comp to try it again and I get the apple logo then the spinning wheel then it just shuts off and that's all it will do now!
Glad I got the iPad so I could post this!
Anywho I've tried all the command option P+R stuff so any other suggestions would be great!
Thank you

Try inserting the instalation DVD provided by Apple and start the computer while holding the 'c' key down on the keyboard until you hear the DVD spin and some action in the DVD drive. If your mac doesn't start and show something meaningfull then, take it back to the shop it has a hardware problem, or your installation disc has.

Snow Leopard Install Failed

Tried installing Snow Leopard on MacBook Pro (Intel Core i5). Drive has been repartitioned, however install fails with message "Install Failed - Mac OS X could not be installed on your computer - The Installer could not copy the necessary support files".
Tried several times but same message each time. Can't even seem to eject disc to check it (although brand new so shouldn't be any problems). Help appreciated...

Restart, holding down the mouse key. That should eject the disc. You might have a faulty install disc. Call Apple.

Snow leopard install fails on 17" MacBook Pro

I left the install disk running then came back to see the Apple logo screen - the machine will not boot into OS X of any number. On second try, the installer ran into an error and reported that MacOS cannot be installed on this disk!
I used disk utility to repair disk - it was ok except for a mention that SUID file "system/libray/coreServices/remoteManagement/ARAAgent.app/Contents/MacOS/ARDAAg ent" has been mdodified and will not be repaired. As well, the boot support sections would be made as required.
I then repaired the permissions - there was nothing too out of place there.
I am now making a disk image of my drive incase anything worse happens.
Sure hope I don't have the pain of recovering all my email and setting, passwords and junk from my disk image - should I have to erase to do a "clean install"
I read that Apple recommended installing Snow Leopard over the existing OS .. and cleaned-up detrius from previous installs.
Soundl like I have some trojan in my remote management - or some system fault is interfering with the install.

No, it sounds like you either have corrupted files or a problem with the hard drive.
The SUID message is irrelevant. Unless you are maintaining Windows systems from a Mac you are not even using Apple Remote management. However, the error is not reported by Disk Repair. It would be reported by Permissions Repair. You need to do both:
Repairing the Hard Drive and Permissions
Boot from your OS X Installer disc. After the installer loads select your language and click on the Continue button. When the menu bar appears select Disk Utility from the Installer menu (Utilities menu for Tiger and Leopard.) After DU loads select your hard drive entry (mfgr.'s ID and drive size) from the the left side list. In the DU status area you will see an entry for the S.M.A.R.T. status of the hard drive. If it does not say "Verified" then the hard drive is failing or failed. (SMART status is not reported on external Firewire or USB drives.) If the drive is "Verified" then select your OS X volume from the list on the left (sub-entry below the drive entry,) click on the First Aid tab, then click on the Repair Disk button. If DU reports any errors that have been fixed, then re-run Repair Disk until no errors are reported. If no errors are reported click on the Repair Permissions button. Wait until the operation completes, then quit DU and return to the installer. Now restart normally.
If DU reports errors it cannot fix, then you will need Disk Warrior (4.0 for Tiger, and 4.1 for Leopard) and/or TechTool Pro (4.6.1 for Leopard) to repair the drive. If you don't have either of them or if neither of them can fix the drive, then you will need to reformat the drive and reinstall OS X.
After you backup I would erase your drive and install Snow from scratch. I would reinstall your third-party software from scratch but avoid third-party add-ons such as contextual menu items, preference panes, startup items, login items, Internet plug-ins, input managers, and the like as some may or are not compatible with Snow.

Macbook Snow Leopard Install Fails

I have been trying to install Snow Leopard on my cousin's macbook for like 2 weeks. I boot up to the install DVD and run the installation. It goes through the entire process all the way to the end and then I get a message that the installation failed with a restart button under it. I have tried doing disk repair and permission repair with disk utility and then running the installation but it still fails. I am at my wits end, I don't know what else to do. I wanted to do this because my cousin's computer was having issues booting. I couldn't even boot the Leopard 10.5 CD that came with her computer. But when I did the snow leopard dvd it boots up perfectly, it just won't install. She needs a computer and I need to not have to share mine with her because hers is broken. I am the only one in the house with enough know how to fix the computers when the break, so that's why I am fixing her computer. I am about ready to throw her Macbook out the window because I am so frustrated. It is 2 years old and shipped with Mac OSX 10.5 Leopard installed on it. It is newer than mine, which I have had for 3 years. Mine is working perfectly still and it is one of the ones that shipped with Tiger installed. Then I upgraded to Leopard, and then to Snow Leopard. I haven't had a single problem with it. I don't understand why her 2 year old computer is having issues when my 3 year old one is not. Especially when they are both Macbook 13" White laptops and look identical when you don't get a close look at the keys. That is the only difference, her function keys are a bit different than mine, and have the buttons for controlling dvd's on them, like play, pause, and rewind. Mine are just like volume, brightness and stuff like that and just normal function keys. Mine is older, if any of them was going to break it should have been mine, but hers is the one with all the issues. I don't get it! This is her second laptop, her first was a Compaq PC laptop and it got a ton of viruses on it and crashed. I suggested that her parents get her a Macbook because they work better and get far fewer viruses (if any at all) than PC's do and for a wonder, they did. She is always the one with the computer problems. I guess it's because she's a teenager and doesn't always take very good care of her stuff. I just don't know. I do know that I have a huge problem with her laptop and need help!!

It doesn't. It just starts up to the Macintosh Hard drive and doesn't do anything differently because I am holding the D key during start up.
For the D key to work one of two criteria must be met:
1. The HD has a hidden partition on it with the Apple Hardware Test (AHT) on it. Some recent Mac models come from Apple with this HD configuration, most older ones do not. Any drive that has been reformatted will not have the hidden partition.
2. An original grey system disc with the specific version of AHT for that Mac model must be in the optical drive. The disc itself will be marked to indicate that it has the AHT on it.
Retail OS installer discs (Leopard, Snow Leopard, whatever) do not have any version of the AHT on them. The AHT is not an application, it is a tiny operating system. Each version is designed only for specific models; they are not interchangeable.

Snow Leopard Upgrade Failed On iMac

I tried to upgrade to SL last night. The iMac reported an issue with the install and now when I try to reboot I have a grey screen with a spinning wheel for about a minute before it turns off.
The disk is in the machine still, and I am not sure if I can or should eject it.
Before I try to use some of the boot keys http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1533 is there any advice you can give me?
Thanks.

Restart, holding down the C key and try another install.

I'm attempting to install snow leopard on my 2008 Imac and it stops installing less than 1/4 way through?

I'm attempting to install Snow Leopard on my 2008 Imac and before it 1/4 way done installing, it ejects the disc and restarts the computer. Is there something I am doing wrong?

See:
How to Install OS X Updates Successfully
A. Repair the Hard Drive and Permissions:
Boot from your current OS X Installer disc. After the installer loads select your language and click on the Continue button. Then select Disk Utility from the Utilities menu. After DU loads select your hard drive entry (mfgr.'s ID and drive size) from the the left side list. In the DU status area you will see an entry for the S.M.A.R.T. status of the hard drive. If it does not say "Verified" then the hard drive is failing or failed. (SMART status is not reported on external Firewire or USB drives.) If the drive is "Verified" then select your OS X volume from the list on the left (sub-entry below the drive entry,) click on the First Aid tab, then click on the Repair Disk button. If DU reports any errors that have been fixed, then re-run Repair Disk until no errors are reported. If no errors are reported click on the Repair Permissions button. Wait until the operation completes, then quit DU and return to the installer. Now restart normally.
If DU reports errors it cannot fix, then you will need Disk Warrior (4.0 for Tiger) and/or TechTool Pro (4.5.2 for Tiger) to repair the drive. If you don't have either of them or if neither of them can fix the drive, then you will need to reformat the drive and reinstall OS X.
B. Make a Bootable Backup Using Restore Option of Disk Utility:
Open Disk Utility from the Utilities folder.
Select the destination volume from the left side list.
Click on the Restore tab in the DU main window.
Check the box labeled Erase destination.
Select the destination volume from the left side list and drag it to the Destination entry field.
Select the source volume from the left side list and drag it to the Source entry field.
Double-check you got it right, then click on the Restore button.
Destination means the external backup drive. Source means the internal startup drive.
C. Important: Please read before installing:
If you have a FireWire hard drive connected, disconnect it before installing the update unless you will boot from this drive and install the update on it. Reconnect it and turn it back on after installation is complete and you've restarted.
You may experience unexpected results if you have installed third-party system software modifications, or if you have modified the operating system through other means. (This does not apply to normal application software installation.)
The installation process should not be interrupted. If a power outage or other interruption occurs during installation, use the standalone installer (see below) from Apple Downloads to update. While the installation is in progress do not use the computer.
D. To upgrade:
Purchase the Snow Leopard Retail DVD.
Boot From The OS X Installer Disc:
Insert OS X Installer Disc into the optical drive.
Restart the computer.
Immediately after the chime press and hold down the "C" key.
Release the key when the spinning gear below the dark gray Apple logo appears.
Wait for installer to finish loading.
E. If updating:
Download and install update(s)
Use Software Update, or
Download standalone updater(s).

I have a copy of Windows 7, and I am trying to bring up Boot Camp on my MacBook with Snow Leopard. But my Snow Leopard install disk is too old for Windows 7, so attempted Boot Camp install of drivers fails.

I have a copy of Windows 7, and I am trying to bring up Boot Camp on my MacBook with Snow Leopard. But my Snow Leopard install disk is too old for Windows 7, so attempted Boot Camp install of drivers fails.
I have hand-installed the NVidia graphics driver, and I have keyboard, minimal trackpad, and hardwire to internet all working. So the WIndows machine is usable. But I am hurting for wi-fi, better trackpad, and whatever else is delivered by Boot Camp. I can't use any of the Boot Camp upgrades because I do not have XP or Vista.

While we all have MacBooks in this forum not all of us use Boot Camp. There's a Boot Camp Support Community where everybody uses Boot Camp. You should also post this question there.
https://discussions.apple.com/community/windows_software/boot_camp

Just done a fresh install of Snow Leopard with all updates,iMac 5.1 behaves strange, sometimes I start Google Chrome and look at youtube videos the computer freezes and shuts down immediately, I believe its related to overheating ?

Just done a replacement of the pata DVD drive (its new and is working ok), and a fresh clean install of Snow Leopard with all updates, iMac 5.1 behaves strange, sometimes I start Google Chrome and look at youtube videos the computer freezes and shuts down immediately,
I believe its related to overheating ?
iStat Pro shows GPU diode temp at 66 C, CPU at 48 C, Fan rpms is around 1000
Any ideas somebody ?
The hard disk has been previously checked with state of the art techniques that have confirmed that the hard disk drive is in perfect condition.

1.5-3 minute boot up as opposed to 15-20 seconds
And
why it takes a long time to load a lot of things.
I have restored this
from a time machine partition.
TimeMachine is only a backup and restore, it won't fix issues in software and according to your information, doesn't even optimize the restore for best performance on boot hard drives.
What you need to do to regain your speed is to understand how your machine works
Why is my computer slow?
Fix any and all issues in software following this list of fixes
..Step by Step to fix your Mac
Then follow this defrag method I've outlined
How to safely defrag a Mac's hard drive
Most commonly used backup methods
There shouldn't be need to reinstall OS X fresh unless your having file structure issues which if they are should appear when in the Steps, which then a zero erase and install will cure as well as any bad sector issues, the defrag step wouldn't be necessarry on a freshly installed system obviously as the files are written all together, not in portions all over the drive.
Hope this assists.

Downgrade using Snow Leopard install DVD does not work on iMac 27"

I have an iMac 27" (SMC version 1.54f36) that I wish to downgrade. I bought a 5-user Snow Leopard license. Now I'm trying to re-install from the DVD, but the computer won't boot on the DVD.
If I run the installer from the desktop, the installation starts, but when the computer reboots, it gets stuck. No alterations is done on the system disk, so I can hold down the Alt key and choose to boot from the system disk and I'm still on 10.6.5. For the moment I cannot find the discs supplied with the iMac, but surely the SL install DVD should work?? I've used it once before to do a clean SL install (I believe the iMac I have came with Leopard).
The version on the SL install DVD is 10.6 (2Z691-6558-A)
The reason for downgrading is that my Pro Apps (DVDSP and FCP) got a bit shaky when I updated to 10.6.5.

If you have a 27" iMac, it had to ship with Snow Leopard installed. See Mac OS X versions (builds) included with Intel-based Macs to confirm this, & Don't install a version of Mac OS X earlier than what came with your Mac for why you should not try to downgrade to an earlier version.
If the version on your SL install DVD is 10.6, then it is an early version & will not work with your iMac. The current retail product version installs 10.6.4 & should work if your iMac is the "Late 2009" model. It probably will not work if your iMac is the "Mid 2010" model.
You need your grey system discs. They should be kept accessible wherever you use your iMac. If you have lost them, contact Apple about getting a replacement set.

Is it possible to use Snow Leopard on Mountain Lion iMac with Virtualbox ?

I've been lucky recently, with people giving the perfect solutions for me so I try again.
But, this one is a tough one: How to run a virtual Snow Leopard on a new iMac ?
I got a 2013 iMac with Mountain Lion (10.8.5 now) so, totally incompatible with Snow Leopard. I need SL anyway.
Give up all you old applications and buy new ones is not acceptable. First, this is not my way of thinking and, second, some cannot be replaced.
Many posts say that you can use Snow Leopard with VirtualBox but I could not find anywhere the "how to" (in this particular configuration).
For instance, I followed these 2 protocols, almost similar:
http://www.maketecheasier.com/install-mac-os-x-snow-leopard-in-virtualbox-on-win dows/
http://www.macbreaker.com/2012/02/snow-leopard-virtualbox.html
but they use Windows as host system and something is not working (for me) with Mountain Lion.
I made many attempts, with VirtualBox 4.2.18, using pretty much everything: Snow Leopard DVD, SL Server DVD, .dmg of both. I've also got Combo 10.6.8 updates for both (but I'm not sure if it can be used before installing). With another MacBook, I managed to install a SLS on external hard drive and update to 10.6.8. Was unable to use it anyway.
Inevitably, I ended up with the message:
"FATAL: No bootable medium found! System halted."
I have no idea of what support to use and even, probably important, if it should be set on Primary or Secondary Master ? (in Settings / Storage)
Is it possible at all ???
Would it work better with VMware Fusion ? Anybody successful ?
Help
Thanx

How to install and run OS 10.6 Snow Leopard on a virtual machine on top of OS 10.7 Lion:
http://osxdaily.com/2011/11/17/install-run-mac-os-x-10-6-snow-leopard-in-virtual -machine-on-lion/
From kappy:
Clean Install of Snow Leopard
     1. Boot the computer using the Snow Leopard Installer Disc. Insert the disc into the
         optical drive and restart the computer. After the chime press and hold down the
         "C" key. Release the key when you see a small spinning gear appear below the
         dark gray Apple logo.
     2. After the installer loads select your language and click on the Continue
         button. When the menu bar appears select Disk Utility from the Utilities menu.
         After DU loads select the hard drive entry from the left side list (mfgr.'s ID and drive
         size.) Click on the Partition tab in the DU main window. Set the number of
         partitions to one (1) from the Partitions drop down menu, set the format type to Mac
         OS Extended (Journaled, if supported), then click on the Partition button.
     3. When the formatting has completed quit DU and return to the installer. Proceed
         with the OS X installation and follow the directions included with the installer.
     4. When the installation has completed your computer will require a restart after
         which you will be running a fresh install of OS X. You can now begin the update
         process by opening Software Update and installing all recommended updates to
         bring your installation current.
First you will have to prep your new SSD:
Drive Partition and Format
1. Boot from your OS X Installer Disc. After the installer loads select your language and click on the Continue button. When the menu bar appears select Disk Utility from the Utilities menu.
2. 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 Partition tab in the DU main window.
3. Under the Volume Scheme heading set the number of partitions from the drop down menu to one. Click on the Options button, set the partition scheme to GUID then click on the OK button. Set the format type to Mac OS Extended (Journaled.) Click on the Partition button and wait until the process has completed.

Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard Install Failed

Trying to upgrade a Power Mac Dual G5 from Mac OS X Tiger to Leopard 10.5. When I try to install the Leopard Disc, I keep getting an "Install Failed" message. This is what is said:
Install Failed
Mac OS X could not be installed on your computer
The source media you are installing from is damaged. Try installing from a different copy of the source media or contact the manufacturer for a replacement.
Click restart to restart your computer and try installing again.
Now, I've used this disc once before for an upgrade on a laptop and worked fine, just started to fail when used on the G5. The disc is not scratched, nor looks damaged. Not sure why it's saying damaged? Any insightful knowledge would be appreciated.
Thanks!

The install disks I have are the ones he got with his Mac Mini. Are there different install disks for iMacs? On the disks themselves, it says "for Mac computers."
Do I have to buy an OS which is specifically for iMac?
The discs that came with his computer have only the necessary software pieces needed to run his computer--it lacks the drivers that would be needed run your iMac. (In addition, installing the same copy of the OS on two computers would be a violation of the license, even if it worked.)
You need to buy a retail version of Leopard or Snow Leopard. Since your iMac has an intel processor, you can buy the cheaper Snow Leopard ($29) from the "Store" tab at the top of this page or anywhere that sells Mac software.

Snow leopard upgrade fails

Hi,
I run 10.5.8 on my iMac and just bought a Snow Leopard DVD from Apple to upgrade to 10.6. I launched the installation DVD and installed the upgrade - all seemed to behave fine, except that the restart hangs at the spinning wheel. I gave it 3 hours but it never progressed beyond the spinning wheel. I can force the system off and reboot with option key pressed. The internal hard drive comes up as one of the startup disk options and it claimes to have SnowLeopard installed but when I select it, again it hangs at spinning wheel. I tried to re-start from the DVD and repeat the installation procedure - same result. As an aside, I happened to have an external drive with a bootable clone of my dauther's MacBook Pro which runs Snow Leopard and interestingly, my iMac booted from that system just fine.
So, I ended up restoring Leopard from Timemachine, so I'm now exactely back to where I started.... What am I missing? Any suggestions to try? I do need to upgrade becasue a piece of software that I ant to use is not compatible with Leopard but requres Snow Leopard or Lion.
Thanks

Most likely you needed to repair the hard drive and permissions before doing the upgrade. Thus, you installed an upgrade on a somewhat dysfunctional system. With the new OS the dysfunctions led to significant malfunction.
I would suggest, since you have a Time Machine backup, that you do this:
Drive Preparation
1. Boot from your Snow Leopard Installer Disc. After the installer loads select your language and click on the Continue button. When the menu bar appears select Disk Utility from the Utilities menu.
2. 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 Partition tab in the DU main window.
3. Under the Volume Scheme heading set the number of partitions from the drop down menu to one. Click on the Options button, set the partition scheme to GUID then click on the OK button. Set the format type to Mac OS Extended (Journaled.) Click on the Partition button and wait until the process has completed.
4. After formatting has completed quit DU. Complete the Snow Leopard installation.
When Snow Leopard restarts into the Startup Assistant you will get an option to restore from your Time Machine backup. You can then migrate your Home folder, applications and support files, and system preferences.
This will give you a new, freshly installed Snow Leopard system.

Snow Leopard Install Failed on iMac

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