Intel iMac can't find Super Duper startup disk

[TMay]

Dave

What am I missing here? Don't have Intel Mac, but about to get one. Why cannot Avi first update the wife's old 12" OS from 10.4.1 to 10.4.8, then clone from there to FW drive since that's what he seems to want to do (I guess I'd target mode clone it directly to the new iMac), then re-clone from the FW to the (already properly formatted) iMac, via Smart Update NOT Copy all Files (to avoid erasing/reformating the Intel Mac volume), and away he goes?

As I say, I'm missing something. Is it that the OS, once run on the Intel, will no longer function on the PPC laptop, when it is cloned back?

Thanks (as always) for enlightenment. --Ted--